When Lightning Strikes
by Ellabee15
Summary: After being banished from Asgard, Thor crash lands outside of Starling.
1. Chapter 1

"YOU ARE AN OLD MAN AND A FOOL." Thor shouted. He didn't know what had possessed him to insult his father thusly, and the second he took in the shocked expression on Odin's face he regretted his words.

"Perhaps I was a fool." Odin's face hardened, he looked weary, regretful, "for beliving you were ready."

"Father." Loki moved to speak on Thor's behalf, but Odin raised a hand, silencing him. Gripping his staff he activated the BiFrost.

"Thor Odinsson. By your actions this day you have brought Asgard to the brink of war. You are not worthy of your title. You are not worthy of the loved ones you have betrayed. Odin strode forward and Thor numbly felt him tear off his breastplate and cape. What was his father intending to do? Odin reached out a hand and summoned Mjolnir. Thor's armor disintegrated leaving him standing in the simple black leathers he wore underneath."I take from you your power and I cast you out."

Odin pushed Thor into the BiFrost.

"Father." Thor reached out, but the power of the BiFrost was too strong. He was pulled back, falling, surrounded by the golden light of the teleportation machine. Then there was nothing but the vast emptiness of space above him. He landed on his back in a dark wooded area. Lying still he looked up. Even the stars here were different. He was alone.

* * *

Felicity made her way to the lair. She hoped Oliver was there. He'd seemed very upset after she'd dropped the Merlyn paternity bomb and she wanted to apologize for not telling him earlier. It was true she'd picked the worst possible time to tell him, but Moira had gotten into her head. She took a deep breath as she stood infront of the lair door. Oliver's words replaying in her head. "You're not going to lose me, Felicity."

Pushing the door open she was about to deliver a cheery greeting when a grunting noise made her pause. She was used to Oliver's exercise noises by now even if she wasn't used to the sight of him doing those exercises, so she knew something was off. Especially since there were two people making small…moaning sounds? The lair light as low, so it took her a few seconds of squinting to adjust to the gloom. What she saw made her cover her mouth to stifle a gasp. Oliver and Sara. Sara and Oliver. Together on the mats. Sweaty and naked. Shutting her eyes, she backed out, closing the door. They hadn't noticed her. Turning she ran. She ran to her car and turned it on, driving away as fast as she could. She needed to get away from them and their sweaty mat sex. She didn't even care where she was driving and Starling City blurred past as she tried to fight back tears.

She didn't know how long she'd been driving, but when she finally calmed down enough to look at her surroundings she was way outside the city. In fact she was driving through some kind of forest. She pulled over to the side of the road and finally let herself really cry.

"Get it together." She sobbed. "It's not like…he was interested. He said he couldn't be with…" She stopped talking. Oliver had said someone he could care about, but he clearly cared about Sara. He loved her and unlike Felicity, Sara could fight. She could take care of herself. Felicity stared out her windshield, trying to reign in her emotions when a strange light in the sky caught her attention. It looked like some kind of electrical storm. Shielding her eyes, she watched as a giant beam of light came shooting straight down from the clouds and struck a place not too far from where she was parked.

Blinking, she got out of the car. Granted, it was probably stupid to investigate strange lights in the sky in the middle of the night, but she hated mysteries and her curiosity won out over the more rational part of her brain. She began walking towards where the light had fallen. It was dark beneath the trees and Felicity wished she'd worn more sensible shoes or brought a flashlight. Stumbling over roots and fallen branches she slowly made her way forward.

"This is crazy." She muttered. "You're going to get lost and they'll find you three days later wandering through the woods rambling about strange lights in the sky. And what happens if you actually find something…or someone." She paused, "and I'm talking to myself; great." Up ahead she could see a clearing that must be the crash site. The trees were splintered, broken. Some of them were smoking and hot to the touch. Felicity inched forward towards the end of the tree line. "Maybe it's an asteroid and they'll name it after you?" She murmured. "

Stepping over the trunk of a broken tree she moved into the clearing. The first thing she noticed was that, impossibly, the trees had been broken in a perfect circle. The second was the man lying motionless in the center of the circle.


	2. Chapter 2

Thor heard a small gasp. Turning, he saw a small blonde woman beside him.

"Are you alright? Where did you come from? Did you really just fall from the sky and wow that sounds like the world's worst pick up line. Not that I'm trying to pick you up though you are a very attractive man…extraterrestrial. A big one too. Please tell me they don't speak English on your planet. Wait they probably don't speak English on your planet."

Thor sat up. The woman backed away in surprise. Her eyes were wide and even in the darkness he could see they were puffy as though she'd been weeping. The moon, which illuminated the clearing, caused the tear tracks to shine. She was breathtaking and terrified.

"I am unhurt, fair maiden. Fear not, I mean you no harm." He watched as she tilted her head.

:Okay, so you come in peace. That's good." She held out her hand. "I'm Felicity. Felicity Smoak."

"Thor." He said, taking her hand in his and bringing it up to his lips. She pulled it away in shock. Thor looked at her in confusion. "You offered me your hand." He said.

"To shake." She said. "That's how we introduce ourselves here on Earth."

"Ah." Thor held out his hand, eager to right his mistake. She hesitated, then held hers back out. Her hand was small and cold. He was careful not to crush it.

"Your hands are really big." She murmured. "I mean…um what made you decide to crash land on our planet? Vacation? Sight-seeing? Or preliminary invasion scouting force?"

Thor bit back a smile, she was truly unique and appeared to speak her thoughts unfiltered.

"I'm not planning on harming your people, Lady Felicity."

"Good, just checking." She held up her hands. "Not that I thought you looked like an evil world destroying alien, but you can't tell." She frowned. "Is it rude for me to ask why you're here?"

Thor felt a crushing wave of sadness. The lady Felicity's arrival had briefly taken his mind off his predicament, but now he was forced to confront it. His face must have revealed his sorrow, because she quickly said. "You don't need to tell me. Forget I asked."

"My father banished me." He said.

"That sounds…awful." She said, putting her hand on his forearm. "I'm sorry." He examined her face. She seemed to genuinely care. There was kindness in her eyes, it was comforting. She looked down, clearly embarrassed by him observing her so closely. He chose to look around him. He wasn't sure which of the 9 realms he'd been sent to. He remembered learning the different positions of the heavens in the 9 realms in school, but he had not paid much attention, finding it tiresome. No doubt if Loki were here, he could have discerned what realm it was within 3 seconds. Thor scrutinized Felicity. She was similar in appearance to an Asgardian, though much smaller and more delicate. The only realm with beings such as her was Midgard, the realm of mortals. She'd referred to this place as Earth which was another name for this realm. "Are you a mortal, my lady?"

"Mortal?...yes." Felicity seemed amused by the question. "What else would I be…" she paused. "Wait, did you say your name was Thor?"

He nodded. "Thor Odinsson."

"As in the son of…Odin." Felicity's brow furrowed. "You wouldn't happen to be the god of thunder, would you?" She smiled as if she were telling a joke.

Thor nodded.

She gaped at him. "Okay, I get it. I crashed the car." She moved back. "I crashed the car and this," She pointed at the circle and Thor. "This is a hallucination."

"I assure you, I am very real, my lady." Thor took hold of her hand. She blushed.

You're immortal." She said.

"Your people labeled me as such." Thor explained. "In truth we are simply stronger and our life spans, substantially longer." He made to stand, but felt dizzy and sat back down.

"Easy." Felicity moved closer and placed a hand on his arm. Thor looked at her in amusement. She couldn't honestly think she could help him to his feet? She was so small. He scrutinized her again. She really seemed kind; perhaps she only meant to provide a steadying presence. Were he on Asgard he would already be attempting to find ways into her bed, but here he was alone. He couldn't risk compromising the only bond of friendship anyone had offered him. He must have been looking at her strangely because she withdrew her hand and nervously pushed her hair behind her ears. He stood and offered her his hand. She took it and he gently pulled her up.

"Where will you go?" Felicity asked.

"I confess, I am not certain." Thor said. "But surely once the Midgardians see that one of the Asgardians has returned, I will find some place of shelter. Perhaps a temple or…" he frowned as Felicity bit her lip. "Do you mock me?"

"No," Felicity held up her hands. "I…it's just that things have changed since the last time you came over the rainbow or however you got here." She cleared her throat. Thor crossed his arms, waiting for an explanation. "No one will believe you." She said, apparently uneasy. "Humans don't necessarily believe in you and your family anymore. You're a myth. If you go around telling people you're Thor god of thunder all you'll get is a padded cell."

"That sounds comfortable." Thor said.

"It means they'll lock you in a mental asylum." Felicity said. "Hell, they'll probably throw me in there too."

"Ah." Thor said. "You believe me, do you not?" If he was truly banished it would be nice to have at least one person who knew who he was. Especially if Midgardians truly no longer worshiped him. Felicity seemed embarrassed by his question.

"Yes, but I saw you fall from the sky." She said. Fidgeting, she looked at the ground. "You could stay with me. I have a couch and…" she stopped, clearly surprised by the boldness of her suggestion.

"I do not wish to burden you, my lady." Thor said, and it was true. While sleeping outside wasn't a particularly desirable prospect, he'd done it before on hunting expeditions. He could survive.

"I can't just leave you out here." Felicity said. "Someone definitely must have seen that light and they'll be coming to investigate. You don't want to be here when the Men in black or the scary people from ET get here."

Thor nodded slowly. He wasn't sure what ET or the men in black were, but they sounded unpleasant. "If you are sure, I accept your offer, my lady."

"Just call me, Felicity." She said. Turning towards the trees, she pointed. "I came from that direction, so my car should be that way." They went into the trees, walking in silence. The forest was strange. There were a few small birds, which indicated anything larger or dangerous. Thor supposed it was why the lady Felicity had felt safe walking alone. She stumbled over a root. There was a snapping noise. Thor caught her before she fell, holding her up against his chest.

"Sorry." She said. "I think I broke my heel." She frowned down at her shoes. Thor noted that, indeed, one of the heels of her shoe was snapped.

"It does not appear to be footwear conducive to walking on this terrain." He said. "Perhaps it would be best if I carried you." He picked her up.

"Right." Felicity put her arms around his neck. "Wouldn't want to break an ankle because I'm guessing you can't drive. You are really strong. Are you sure you're okay with this?"

Thor smiled, he'd carried weapons heavier than her and it was amusing that she thought she could be a burden. "Just point me in the direction of your vehicle."

The trees were thinning and finally they arrived at a road. Thor gently put Felicity down. "My lady, you appear to have misplaced your horse." He frowned at the closed carriage on the side of the road. "Or does this fly?"

"Fly?" Felicity coughed. "Um…no. I have this thing about heights and they haven't invented one of these that can fly…or they have and we just don't know about it. We don't use horses anymore. This has horse power though." She looked at vehicle then back at him. "I just hope you can fit. It's a mini cooper, and you are definitely not mini." She opened the door and pushed the chair back. Stepping aside, she motioned for him to get in. It was small, but he managed to get inside. She came around and entered through the other door. Turning a piece of metal, the vehicle roared to life. Thor was taken slightly aback.

"It won't hurt you." She chuckled, at his expression.

"I wasn't frightened." Thor insisted, his pride wounded. "merely surprised."

"So the male ego isn't only an earth phenomena." Felicity said. "You might want to put on your seatbelt." She pulled a strap of material across her front and clicked at her side. Thor frowned. "What purpose does this restraint serve?"

Felicity reached across him and pulled the belt across him. "It protects you in case of an accident and I'm not allowed to drive without you wearing it." Her hand bumped his hip and she flushed red. "Um, okay, now we can go." She turned the wheel and the vehicle began moving.

"Do you live in these woods, my lady?" Thor said, trying to make a conversation to take his mind off the strange sensation of the vehicle.

"No, oh god no." Felicity looked horrified. "I live in a city not too far from here. At least, I think it's not too far from here. I'm not sure how long I was driving. I don't usually come out here, where ever here is. You got lucky that I happened by." Her expression grew distant. "I guess Oliver got lucky too," she added in an undertone. "And Sara, everyone's getting lucky." She seemed to be lost in her own thoughts.

"Is there something that troubles you?"

Felicity cleared her throat. "It's not important." She said dismissively, but Thor could tell she was lying.

"Is it what caused you to weep earlier?" He asked.

"How did you know about that?" She said, embarrassed and a little defensive.

"It was quite evident, my lady." He said.

She sighed. "Typical. I meet an actual god and my eyes are puffy and gross. Way to go, Smoak. You must have looked like a crazy person."

"Do you always converse with yourself?" Thor asked.

"No?" She said. He smiled. "Not, consciously." She admitted. "I promise I'm not insane."

"I find it quite refreshing." He said, sincerely. "It is rare to meet someone who speaks bluntly."

She bit her lip. "To be honest, I don't usually do it on purpose. Sometimes things just slip out." They fell into a heavy silence. Thor's stomach rumbled loudly. He looked at it in surprise. Felicity giggled.

"Hungry?" She asked.

"It would appear so." Thor said.

"Do they have Big Belly Burger where you come from?" Felicity asked, grinning from ear to ear.

"No?" Thor said slowly.

"Well then, you my friend, are in for a treat." Her horseless vehicle sped through the night towards a large illuminated city with a sign welcoming him to "Starling City".


	3. Chapter 3

Phil Coulson got out of the van, talking on his phone. "Maria, tell Fury I've already secured the first crash site. Yes…no, no sign of life. It was just a hammer. The weird thing is it's not moving. We set up a perimeter, but it's pretty isolated. I'm making my way to the second site now, I'll keep you posted." He hung up. "So," he turned to the other agents. "What do we have?"

"The unknown crashed about 30 yards that way, sir." One of the agents pointed through the trees. "We've got a team of scientists analyzing it."

Coulson looked at the trees. "Great, hiking. Just what I was missing."

"Save your energy, Phillip." Clint Barton's bored voice came over coms. "There's nothing there."

"What do you mean nothing?" Coulson frowned up at the tree that Barton had climbed to view the crash site.

"I mean there's the same weird writing and crop circle, but there's nothing in the middle." He sighed. "I owe Sitwell money I was betting there'd be a giant nail." He turned towards the road. "Also, we've got company."

Large black vans were coming down the road. Coulson plastered a fake smile on his face. "Amanda. It's been too long." He said as the director of ARGUS stepped out of the lead car.

"NO IT HASN'T." Barton shouted down from the tree.

"What brings you to this neck of the woods?" Coulson ignored the agent's outburst.

"You're out of your jurisdiction, Agent Coulson." Waller said as she walked to the edge of the trees, obviously intent on going to the crash site.

"Director Fury thought you might say that." Coulson moved to block her, "which is why he instructed me to say that this is an unexplained scientific phenomena which ARGUS is not equipped to handle, though he used more expletives. He also suggests that you stick to your lane because if, and I quote, 'ARGUS did their goddamn job once in a while the Ten Rings would have been dismantled before they got a chance to billionaire-nap Tony Stark and I wouldn't be stuck iron babysitting all the damn time."

Waller remained unfazed. "I was under the impression that Fury was overjoyed at Mr. Stark's transformation; that it gave him an addition to that secret club he thinks I don't know about. What is it you call it? Ah yes, the Avengers Initiative."

Phil kept his expression neutral. "If such a program exists it sounds like a thing that would be voluntary…unlike a certain Task Force X."

They stood, unblinking, neither wanting to concede defeat.

"Phil," Barton interrupted. He was watching the team of scientists who were analyzing the crash site. "I think the Science Babies found something."

Phil sighed. The Science Babies were two of the most promising graduates from the SHIELD science academy. Both were the leading experts in their respective fields and had doctorates, but those facts didn't register for Barton. He'd taken one look at them and called them the Science Babies (Come on Phil, they probably can't even drive yet). Both agents had been too intimidated by the senior agent to contradict him.

Giving Waller a tight smile, Coulson clapped his hands together. "Well this has been fun, but duty calls." He turned to walk away, "oh and might I suggest that you focus your efforts on controlling a certain Robin Hood fetishist you've got running wild in your back yard instead of trying to play in the SHIELD sandbox."

"Boom, mic drop." Barton said. Coulson went to the crash site. Above him, Barton began moving from tree to tree.

"Did she leave?"

"Yup, but she did not look happy…though her face has probably frozen that way." Barton said.

"Barton, that's the head of a fellow government agency." Coulson sighed. "Have some respect."

"You say bad things about her all the time." Barton whined.

"I outrank you." Coulson retorted. "And you're on probation, remember."

Barton sighed. "For the record, Budapest was Tasha's idea."

"Really?" Coulson said. "And would you be willing to say the same thing if she were here?"

Barton gulped.

"Thought so." Coulson smiled, right before he was almost knocked over by two over enthusiastic scientists.

"Agent Coulson, Sir." Agent Fitz was waving a device around. He was controlling a small group of drones which were scanning the circle. "I've been analyzing the residue from whatever force created this phenomena and there's an interference in the air which our instruments can't read. I believe it's from whatever caused this and we can't scan it because we don't have the proper equipment. It's definitely not from our planet."

"And I've scanned samples which the drones detected in the center of the circle." Agent Simmons said. "And it leads to one conclusion –"

"Whatever landed here was alive." Barton interrupted. He'd settled on a large branch in one of the trees on the outside of the ring and was staring at the center. Simmons looked up at him in surprise. "Life up here gives you a completely different perspective." He pointed to the center. "There are tracks. One set entering the circle and two leaving. Which means whatever landed here is gone and someone helped it." He smirked and tapped a finger next to his eye. "Hawkeye."

Simmons rolled her eyes.

"I saw that too." Barton shouted.

"In addition to Agent Barton's observations, I was able to pull a sample off the dirt which contained DNA from our alien. It's very similar in many ways to Human DNA, but there are extra bases that we don't have. Human DNA contains 4 basic components and this alien appears to have double that number. I would be interested to- "

Coulson cleared his throat. "Can you identify the other person?" He asked gently.

"No sir." Simmons said. "There weren't any DNA particles I could pull that matched a human. However scans of the ground gave me the size and depth of her shoe prints."

"Her?"

"They were high heel prints." Simmons said.

"Doesn't mean anything," Coulson said. "Barton's worn heels before."

"That was one time and I was undercover." Barton grumbled. "And I rocked it, thank you very much."

"The individual." Simmons continued. "Is approximately 5,5 and 110 pounds. The other one, assuming they're humanoid in appearance would be about 6,3 and well over 250 pounds."

"That narrows it down." Coulson sighed. "So basically we have no idea who or what we're looking for. The only inhabited place close by is Starling City." He glared. "Which means we have to play nice with ARGUS."

"Because Waller does so well with compromise." Barton mumbled.

"Just for that, you get to tell Fury." Coulson said, smirking as the other agent almost fell from the tree.

* * *

Felicity woke to the sound of her fire alarm and the smell of something burning. Sprinting out of bed, she tripped over a discarded pair of shoes as she grabbed the fire extinguisher from the closet. Rushing out of her room, she saw smoke coming from the kitchen. Turning off the stove, she blasted a burning pan with the fire extinguisher.

"My apologies, I just discovered how to operate this contraption and I was attempting to cook you a morning meal to thank you for taking me in." The smoke began to dissipate revealing Thor covered in white streaks from the fire extinguisher.

Felicity gaped at him.

"Are you alright?" Thor asked.

"Uh huh. I just realized that last night wasn't a dream." Felicity said. "and that I just sprayed a god with a fire extinguisher."

Thor looked at her sheepishly.

"It's okay," Felicity motioned to the stove. "Just don't use any fire without me to supervise." She looked at Thor's clothes. "Um do you want to shower and change?"

"I have no other clothing." He said.

"I have some extra men's clothes around here somewhere." Felicity said, trying to remember where she'd stashed Oliver's go bag. "It belongs to Oliver so there's a chance it could fit you…although ." She looked at him. "Those shoulders are going to be an issue."

"How so?" Thor asked.

"They're kinda huge." Felicity's eyes widened. "Not that that's a problem, um it's just Oliver's shirt might not fit you…So we'll need to go shopping because you can't go around wearing the same clothes. That's gross and while you definitely pull off the whole medieval knight meets leather 80's rocker look you've got going, it'll make you stand out more. Please stop me from talking." She covered her face. Thor was grinning.

"Do all Midgardian women talk as you do?" He asked.

"No." Felicity looked away.

"It is a pity." Thor said.

"Most people find it annoying." Felicity mumbled.

"Well then they are fools." Thor declared. "And I will thrash them for you."

Felicity coughed in surprise, though it might have been caused by the residual smoke. "Um thanks." She blushed. "But that's not necessary." She paused. "Are you always so…sincere when you talk?"

"I endeavor to be." Thor said. "But I confess to sometimes speaking recklessly." He looked at the ground, his face full of regret. "It has not always served me well." Felicity realized that it might have something to do with his banishment. She wanted to ask, but he seemed so upset that she didn't want to push.

"The bathroom is here." She said, walking over to the door and opening it. "Do you have showers on Asgard?"

Thor raised an eyebrow.

"Here," she motioned for him to follow. Turning on the shower she said, "you just stand under the water and wash away." She said, "soap's here and towels are there." She pointed. "I'll go find the extra clothes," She turned to see that Thor had begun taking his shirt off. Her eyes widened. "Oh, so you're just gonna…" She trailed off, moving away and bumping into the sink. "I'll just be…outside. Looking for those clothes you'll be putting on, and not looking at you taking off what you're currently wearing…" she fled the bathroom and shut the door. ."Oh my god." She gasped. "Actual god…getting naked…in my bathroom."

Thor's booming laugh resounded from inside the bathroom.

"Did you hear that?" She asked.

"Only if you wanted me to, my lady." Thor replied.

Felicity went back to her room. She'd put Oliver's go bag under the bed. Grabbing it, she pulled out jeans and a t shirt. Knocking on the bathroom door, she said, "I'm just going to leave these out here." She went into her bedroom, thinking about what she should do next. It was Saturday, meaning that it was a slow day at the office. She could take a sick day. She'd never taken one in her entire time at QC and frankly it was long overdue. Plus, with what she'd seen the night before she didn't think she could face Oliver…though to be honest he'd probably blow off work anyways. Meaning she'd have the joy of facing Isabel all day by herself. She'd take the day off and make her excuses to Oliver later at the foundry. Her phone rang.

"Speak of the devil." She muttered as Oliver's caller id flashed on the screen. She debated whether or not she should pick up, but finally decided to answer. "Hello?"

"Felicity, have you gotten to the office yet?"

"Uh, no." Felicity's brow furrowed.

"Really? It's 9:30" Oliver sounded surprised. Felicity looked at the clock and sure enough, it was.

"I overslept." She said. "And what do you care, you only make an appearance around 12 anyways."

"Are you okay?" Oliver asked. "You sound very tense."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just that you sound angry." Oliver's tone softened. "I need you to cover for me at the department meeting today."

"Again?" Felicity shut her eyes, she'd forgotten about the department meeting. Or she'd repressed the knowledge. "Why?"

"Because I have a lead on those weird deaths in the glades that I need to run down." Something was off about Oliver's voice. In addition none of the searches she'd done the past few days had turned up anything.

"Can't Sara handle it?" Felicity asked.

"She hasn't been in Starling in the last few years and things have changed." Oliver said, defensively. "She'll need back up."

Felicity closed her eyes. He was lying, she could always tell. Oliver was asking her to sit through a humiliating meeting, where everyone would make snide comments and look at her with barely concealed contempt, because he wanted to ditch to be with Sara. She was done covering for him. When it was for serious Arrow business it was fine, but for this… The worst part, was that he was lying to her about it being important. He didn't know she'd seen him and Sara last night and he was probably keeping the relationship from her. And why? Pity? Did he think she'd fall apart because he hadn't chosen her? You kinda did, a voice in the back of her mind whispered.

"I wish I could," She said. "Truly; covering for you again would really be the highlight of my day, but I'm sick." She coughed. "It's why I overslept. I'm probably contagious, so you're going to have to figure out something for the meeting."

"Felicity."

"Bye Oliver." She hung up. Feeling a surge of triumph, she got dressed, opting for jeans and a simple t-shirt. Grabbing her purse, she opened the door to her bedroom, just as Thor stepped out of the bathroom. She must have had a weird look on her face, because he immediately asked.

"Does something trouble you, my lady?"

"No, I'm good. In fact, I'm great." She looped her arm through his. "How about, we go to the mall and I reverse Pretty Woman you?"

"What?" Thor looked adorably confused.

"You need more clothes and I need to do something that doesn't involve being shut in a basement. So we are going to the mall to spend some of the higher salary that my boss somehow believes is compensation for the fact that he's an idiot who should ask people before he makes career decisions for them." She tugged him towards the door. "Come on, Julia Roberts, it'll be fun!"

"I believe you might be ill, Lady Felicity." Thor's confusion had turned to alarm. "My name is Thor."

Felicity grinned. "I've never felt better and we can watch that movie after we go shopping."

"But what about breakfast?" Thor looked back at the mangled, charred remains of his cooking attempt which were still sitting on the stove.

"There's food at the mall." Felicity said, dismissively. "I believe there's actually a Big Belly Burger."

Thor's eyes lit up. "Lead the way."


	4. Chapter 4

"Okay, here's the game plan." Felicity said as they left the mall's Big Belly Burger. They'd just eaten and she was holding a milkshake. "You need shoes, clothes and basic toiletries, because while my shampoo is awesome I'm guessing you don't want to smell like flowers all the time. We should start with clothes…" She trialed off, realizing that Thor wasn't next to her. Turning around she saw him standing in the center of the mall, looking up at the floors above. She walked back over to him and nudged him.

"You okay?" She asked.

"I was thinking of the large market place in Asgard." Thor murmured. Shaking himself, he smiled down at Felicity. "I apologize, lead the way lady Felicity."

"You don't need to apologize for your feelings, Thor." Felicity said. "So, clothes or shoes?"

Thor frowned. "The tailor will probably take long, so I believe we should start there first."

"Tailor…?" Felicity grinned. "Oh this is going to be fun." She tugged him over to the closest clothing store. "Let me introduce you to wonders of premade clothing."

The next 3 hours were a hilarious whirlwind of stores. Felicity giggled as Thor tried different styles; the most entertaining moment was definitely when the female store attendants convinced him to try on skinny jeans. Then came the shoe stores where she made a bunch of completely awkward and inappropriate comments on his shoe size. All of which, thankfully, went completely over his head.

"Are all Midgardian store clerks always so attentive?" Thor asked. He'd insisted on carrying all the shopping bags.

"No." Felicity giggled. "They just had extra motivation."

"One of them gave me a piece of paper." Thor continued. "It has a sequence of numbers on it. Is it a code of some kind?"

"It's a phone number." Felicity laughed. "She wanted you to call her."

Thor turned around. "If I call her from here will she hear me?" He said, looking back towards the store. "I do not even know her name." He looked very worried.

"Not that type of call." Felicity dug in her bag and pulled out her cell. "This is a phone. It's a communication device. If you have a person's number, you call it and you can talk to them."

Thor tilted his head. "And she gave me this number because she found me attractive." He smirked.

"Well she has functioning eyes." Felicity muttered as she put her phone back in her purse. "So, what should we do ne…" She caught sight of Sara and Laurel walking into the mall with their father. "Hide me." She whispered, and ducked behind Thor, but it was too late.

"Ms. Smoak?" Lance's voice called out.

"Damn it." She squeaked.

Thor frowned in their direction. "Do they threaten you, my lady?"

"No." She muttered, moving out from behind him. She really didn't want to face Sara right now. Though she was nice, after what Felicity had seen the night before, she'd have trouble looking her in the face. Then there was the fact that she'd probably tell Oliver that she wasn't sick, but shopping...with Thor.

"Hi." She said, smiling her biggest smile. "How are you detec…Officer Lance?" She corrected. Thor raised an eyebrow at her high pitched tone.

"Good." He said. "These are my daughters, Sara and Laurel." Lance knew Felicity and Sara had met because of her connection to the Arrow, but for Laurel's sake he was pretending otherwise. "We're doing a family day at the mall. Just like we used to." He turned to Sara. "This is Felicity Smoak."

"She's Ollie's assistant." Laurel clarified. Felicity bristled at the dismissive sound of her title. She cursed Oliver for the 1000th time for making her his EA.

"It's temporary." She said, keeping her smile in place, but gritting her teeth. "I've got a Master's in computer engineering and as soon as Oliver figures out how to use a computer without crashing the entire building, I'm going back to IT. I'm serious," She said when Sara snorted. "That actually happened. He's got such clumsy fingers."

Laurel's eyes narrowed. Felicity realized the double entendre of her words. "I'm glad you're not dead." She said to Sara.

"Shouldn't you be at work?" Laurel asked, forcefully.

"I took a sick day." Felicity mumbled.

"Shopping?" Laurel said, her voice saccharine.

"She was assisting me." Thor said, stepping beside Felicity. "I just arrived to the city of Starling and my clothes were lacking."

"The airline lost his suitcase." Felicity said quickly as the Lances looked taken aback by Thor's manner of speech.

Lance chuckled as he looked Thor up and down. "Well anything that keeps you away from Queen." Sara twitched slightly and glanced at the ground.

"It's not like that." Felicity said quickly. "For Oliver or Thor. I'm not with either of them. I'm by myself. Independent. By the way, this is Thor who just got in last night, by plane at the airport. Where they lost his suitcase."

Sara was smiling while Laurel looked at her with irritation.

"Thor?" Lance raised an eyebrow.

"Thor Odinsson." Thor grinned as he put down some of the shopping bags and held out his hand. He looked back at Felicity as though confirming that he was correctly greeting him. Felicity gave him a smile.

"Your parents must be interesting people." Lance remarked as he shook his hand.

Thor's expression shifted to one of sadness. "They are." He said.

"We'll leave you to your family time." Felicity said, taking Thor's arm. "Welcome back to Starling, Sara. If you ever need anything you can call me. I'll give you my number because you don't have it seeing as we just met." Shut up Felicity, she shouted at herself as she looked in her bag for a piece of paper to write her number on.

"You are so cute." Sara chuckled as she took the piece of paper and put it in her pocket. Lance and Laurel smiled and moved to walked past her. Sara leaned in and whispered. "If you want tonight off, I won't blame you and I'll cover for you with Ollie." She gave Thor an appreciative look before following her family.

Felicity let out a sigh of relief. Thor looked at her in concern. "They're…it's complicated." She mumbled.

Thor nodded. "Where to next, my lady?"


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Special thanks to Lademonessa for the amazing cover art!**

* * *

"Slowly." Felicity said, biting her lip. "careful."

Thor frowned. "I believe I am capable of performing this task, lady Felicity."

"Really?" Felicity put her hands on her hips, smirking. "Because there's burnt pan in my garbage that says otherwise."

Thor looked down at the pot of pasta. "I simply underestimated the power of the flame." He mumbled. Felicity giggled and turned her attention back to the salad she was making.

"Would it not be simpler to go to Big Belly Burger?" Thor said as he carried the pasta pot to the strainer in the sink.

"Yes, but we had it for breakfast…and lunch…and second lunch." Felicity frowned. "This is healthy…er."

Thor made a disappointed noise. Felicity shook her head, smiling. He was too adorable.

"It's not that we'll never eat it again." She said, looking back at him, "it's just too much of a good thing."

"It is a shame we do not have it on Asgard." Thor sighed.

Felicity giggled. "I'm guessing you also have less obesity."

Thor shrugged. "Our food is quite rich, but with the amount of training I do, it doesn't affect me much." He paused, his eyes going distant. "Our feasts are the stuff of legend."

"Literally," Felicity mumbled, Thor chuckled.

"The kitchens spend weeks, preparing for them. Once, on my name day we had a cake about the side of this room in width and twice its height." He was grinning, his eyes agleam with excitement. He spread his arms out as if he could show how big the cake was. "Of course Volstagg ate half of it."

"Volstagg?" Felicity asked. She'd put down her knife, leaving the salad. Thor's enthusiasm was infectious.

"Volstagg the Valiant." Thor said. "He is a friend and one of the Warriors 3. His skill in battle is only matched by his appetite at the feast table. Enemies fear his battle ax and pheasants fear his fork."

Felicity giggled. "Tell me about the other 2."

"Well, there's Hogun the Grim, so named because of his serious nature. He hails from Vanahiem, one of the other realms. He's loyal, just, and a determined fighter, though occasionally a bit of a bore. He's so…responsible." Thor shook his head in affectionate amusement. "Then there is Fandral." He smiled, "the Dashing, so named because of his popularity with the ladies of the court." He paused, looking away, embarrassed.

"He has a lot of sex." Felicity grinned as Thor's face snapped up to look at her in surprise. "What?" She said innocently. He broke into a grin.

"Apologies, besides Sif, I am unaccustomed to women speaking of these matters so openly." He explained. "I believe the two of you would like each other."

"Sif?" Felicity asked.

"The lady Sif is a formidable warrior and one of my dearest friends." Thor said.

"Women are warriors too?" Felicity asked.

"No…" Thor said slowly. "Women learn basic fighting skills, but mostly study sorcery and healing. Sif is unique in her dedication to Warcraft."

"She sounds badass," Felicity remarked. "Cool," she added when Thor looked at her in confusion. "Um, it means she's strong and doesn't let others tell her what to do."

"Ah," Thor nodded "that is Sif, she definitely didn't let others dictate her actions. She is quite…bad-ass?" he fumbled over the last word uncertainly. Felicity grinned.

"See, I'll have you talking like a lowly mortal in no time." She grabbed some plates and brought them to the table. Thor put the pasta in a bowl and grabbed the salad, then followed. He looked around the apartment as he put them on the table.

"Do you mind me asking your profession lady Felicity? I see no weapons or indications of sorcery."

Felicity snorted. "Should I be insulted that you just implied that I might be a witch?"

Thor crossed his arms. "My mother is a sorceress."

Felicity's eyes widened, "and I'm sure she's a lovely person." She said quickly. Thor chuckled.

"We don't have magic." Felicity said, "we have science. I work with computers." Thor gave her a blank look. "Here, I'll show you." She went into her room and grabbed her laptop. Putting it in front of Thor, she turned it on. "This is a laptop. It's a personal computer."

"What does it do?" Thor raised an eyebrow.

Felicity grinned. "The better question is, what can't it do." Her fingers danced over the keyboard. "My brains combined with this baby: anything is possible."

"Really?" Thor snorted.

"Want to know what type of weather it's going to be tomorrow? I can not only find that, I can hack the satellite where the weather channel got the information and show you…" She typed away a few seconds later she punched the air in triumph. Thor looked at the screen wide eyed.

"That's earth, seen from space." She smiled. "Hey, maybe I can find your planet! What part of the galaxy is it in?"

Thor shook his head. "It is not of this realm."

"So, it's not in the Milky Way?" Felicity looked at him in confusion.

"No, you and I do not exist in the same realm. There are different levels on Yggdrasil, the tree of life and this planet, in addition to your Milky Way, is Midgard. I come from Asgard."

"A parallel reality?" Felicity breathed. "That is so cool. Wait if it's not the same realm. How did you get here?"

"The BiFrost." Thor said, simply. Turning back to her computer he said, "so you are a woman of Knowledge. And you assist this Ollie, with pictures of your planet?"

"Huh?"

"One of the women we ran into at the mall of shopping, Laurel, said you were Ollie's assistant." Thor explained. Felicity huffed.

"That's temporary." She couldn't keep the bitterness out of her voice. "I used to work in IT, which is the computer department. I was in charge of making sure that all the company computers and websites worked properly. Ollie, is Laurel's icky nickname for my boss, Oliver Queen. He's a friend and when he took over the company after his mom got sent to jail, he was completely hopeless with computers or anything having to do with running a company so he decided to make me his assistant…without asking." She took a breath, trying to reign in her irritation, Thor's forehead creased with concern.

"An assistant is a bad thing?" He asked.

"It's not what I signed up for." Felicity said. "There's nothing wrong with being an assistant, but I went to school for computer programming. That's my specialty. I'm really, really good at it. Hell, when I left MIT I could have gone to any company in the country; Stark Industries, STAR labs, Wayne Enterprises, but I chose Queen Consolidated…and now, instead of working with computers, I'm smiling and making small talk to obnoxious board members while getting Oliver coffee and pretending that I can't hear the office gossips who say that I slept with him to get the job. Which is bullshit, because if I had slept with him, I would have had him make me head of the IT department or something more interesting than…" She broke off. "Sorry," she stepped back, her hands shaking. Turning away from Thor, she began trying to regulate her breathing. "3…2…1" A warm hand was placed gently on her shoulder, She turned slightly to see Thor looking down at her.

"I can see that this has really upset you, have you told this…Oliver of your feelings on the subject?" He asked.

"Yes." Felicity grumbled, "but he didn't listen." She looked at the ground. "He never listens." She added softly.

"He placed his needs above yours?" Thor growled. His hand on her shoulder, squeezed slightly.

"It's complicated." Felicity murmured, turning to face him. "What's a Bifrost?" She asked, desperate to change the subject away from Oliver. She didn't want to think about him.

"It is a device we use to travel from realm to realm." Thor said.

"So that's how you came here and became gods." Felicity tilted her head. "People just saw beings falling from the sky and decided to worship you. Are there other beings like you who did the same thing? Like Zeus or Osiris? How about Athena, does she exist?"

Thor shook his head. "I do not know the individuals of which you speak."

"Well maybe they live in another realm." Felicity suggested. Thor smiled, indulgently.

"I do not believe so."

"How would you know? Have you been to every one?" she stuck out her chin and gave him her best challenging look. "I mean, there's probably tons." Thor shook his head in amusement.

"There are 9, my lady, and while I admit I have not visited each one, I know enough to say that no other beings came down to Midgard besides the Asgardians. You see, we control the Bifrost, and are the keepers of order in the 9 realms."

"Order?" Felicity frowned. "Not to sound ungrateful, but things on earth haven't always been peachy. In fact, they're pretty much horrible all the time. We could have used some godly intervention with the Crusades, the Plague, the Inquisition, the holocaust, the Congo, the Rwandan genocide; we've just been killing each other left and right. Some order would have been nice."

Thor shifted uncomfortably. "My father ordered us not to interfere with the affairs of men." He explained. "We thought our presence was holding you back. With the Asgardians out of the way, Midgard could achieve their potential."

Felicity sighed. "I guess that makes…a weird kind of sense." She bit her lip thoughtfully. "Kind of like an Asgardian prime directive."

"Our role is order between realms. Rest assured; if Jotunheim had ever attacked Midgard, we would have interfered." Thor said solemnly.

"Thanks…I think." Felicity couldn't help but smile. "So tell me about the other realms."

"Well," Thor motioned to the couch. Felicity sat, crossed legged facing him as he sat next to her. "There is Vanaheim, the home of the Vanir. They are very similar to Asgardians, in fact my mother hails from there."

Felicity listened, rapt with attention as Thor explained the different realms that she didn't notice when someone looked into her window.

* * *

"Where's Felicity?" Digg said as he came into the lair. Oliver glanced away from his sparring session with Sara, who took his distraction as a chance to land a blow on his shoulder.

"Umf." He backed up. "She's…" He looked over at the computers and sure enough the chair was empty. "She was sick this morning." He frowned. "I thought she'd be better by now."

Digg crossed his arms. "What aren't you telling me?" He demanded.

"I talked to her this morning." Oliver said, "I asked her to cover for me in a meeting," he ignored Digg's groan of exasperation. "She said she couldn't do it because she wasn't feeling well."

"That girl is a saint." Digg muttered.

"I went to the meeting." Oliver said defensively.

"You're the CEO, it's your job." Digg retorted. "What was your excuse this time?"

"I had a lead in the weird glade deaths." Oliver retorted.

"Oh really?" Digg said. "And you couldn't have sent me to check it? Or Sara?"

Oliver frowned and stayed silent. Digg shook his head. "And what was this amazing, so urgent lead, because nothing we've turned up has panned out."

"It doesn't matter now." Oliver muttered, turning back to Sara. "How about we take this from the beginning, and this time use staffs?" He could feel Digg watching the two of them.

"I talked to Felicity around lunch time." Sara said, looking over at Digg. "She's still not feeling well so she's taking the night off." She smiled. "I think it's girl stuff."

"Uh huh." Digg was clearly not convinced.

"We can just do a simple patrol tonight." Oliver suggested. "Nothing too dangerous, we'll handle it fine without her." Sara came to stand next to him and nodded her agreement.

Digg looked from Oliver to Sara, then understanding dawned on his face. "Oliver can I talk to you alone for a second?" He asked.

Sara nodded "I'm having dinner with my dad anyway." then she left the lair.

Digg waited for the door to close before asking, "How long?"

Oliver felt a twinge of panic, but kept his expression neutral. "What?"

"How long have you been sleeping with Sara?" Digg said.

"I don't see how that's any of your business."

"If it affects your decisions and your ability to function as a member of this team, then it does affect me and Felicity." Digg growled. "There was no lead today, you wanted to spend time with Sara and you lied to Felicity to try to get it."

"She didn't- "

"She always knows." Digg cut him off. "You're the world's worst liar Oliver, and while everyone else seems to believe you there are 2 people in this world who you can't and shouldn't be lying to and you just lied to both of us." He frowned.

"I didn't want her to find out about Sara like this." Oliver sighed. "She…" He made an annoyed motion towards the computer chair. "She wouldn't take it well."

"You're dead wrong." Digg frowned. "That girl could handle whatever crap you throw at her and still walk out of here, her head high. There's just going to be a day when she wises up and decides not to put up with your bullshit anymore." He looked back at the computer chair. "I'm not telling you how to handle your personal life –"

"Then don't." Oliver cut him off.

"She deserves an apology and the truth about you skipping the meeting." Digg said. "It's the least you can do."

Oliver sighed. "Fine, I'll go to her house and apologize."

"Good." Digg said.

Oliver grabbed his jacket and helmet and went out to his bike. He drove to Felicity's apartment. Pulling up outside, he took a moment to gather himself. He'd never been to Felicity's before, he'd driven past it before to make sure she was safe, but he'd never officially been inside. She lived on the ground floor of a large house and her living room lights were on, so she was home. He was about to walk up the stairs to her door when an older woman from the house across the street called out to him.

"Are you here to see Felicity?"

"Yeah." He said uncomfortable.

"Lucky girl." The woman grinned. "She's been alone for too long."

Oliver wasn't sure what to say.

"Though between you and me, 2 in one weekend is a bit much." She smiled and went back inside her house. Oliver gaped at the closed door. What could she have meant by 2?

Bracing himself for the uncomfortable conversation he was going to have to have, he walked up the stairs and peeked into the living room to see if he could see her sleeping. If she was, he'd leave her be and have this conversation later. What he saw made his blood freeze. Felicity was sitting on the couch, facing sideways, her entire body turned to the man next to her. Oliver could see that the man was tall and strong with long blonde hair. He was talking animatedly to her, using big hand gestures. She was rapt with attention, her eyes wide, pausing him now and then to ask questions and grinning when he replied or frowning and demanding more information. They were sitting so close. Then Felicity put her hand on the other man's arm, giggling as he leaned close to say something. Oliver reeled back. She hadn't been sick; she'd lied to him, to be with this man.

I wanted this for her. A voice in the back of his head reminded him as he walked back to his bike. I wanted her to have a normal life safe from the dangers of the Arrow. But, he reflected as he turned on the bike and drove away, I wasn't expecting her to find it so soon. He called Sara, "can we meet?" He asked.

"Of course, Ollie." She said.

He hung up, speeding through Starling and desperately trying to get the image of Felicity's almost worshipful expression as she leaned in to touch the other man's arm.


	6. Chapter 6

Amanda Waller smirked as she walked into her office. "I knew you'd come crawling here eventually."

Coulson looked up from his seat behind her desk. "I don't crawl, Amanda and I'm only here as a courtesy."

Waller raised an eyebrow. "Courtesy?"

"I come in the spirit of cooperation." Coulson continued.

"No doubt with the understanding that you'll do what you want no matter what I say?" Waller crossed her arms. Coulson grinned.

"We know each other so well. Let's make this easier on the both of us. You let us operate in Starling to investigate our unknown and we help you with that mercenary you're tracking…Deathstroke?" He grinned at Waller's stiff glare. "Nice name, lots of drama, though it does have the drawback of making him sound scarier than he actually is."

"Deathstroke is a serious threat." Waller growled.

"And yet you let him set up shop here." Coulson said.

"What are you talking about?"

"Does the name Shado Corp ring any bells?" Coulson asked. "It's a company that started about 4 years ago in Budapest. There was some concern about unauthorized experimentation and an ambassador's daughter went missing. Long story short we sent in 2 of our best. Barton jumped the gun, as usual and landed himself and Romanov in a hospital, but the hostages were freed and we got some interesting intel."

"What does this have to do with Deathstroke?" Waller interrupted. Coulson smiled.

"Romanov and Barton were practically taken out by one man."

"That's impossible." Even if the two agencies were often at odds, Natasha Romanov and Clint Barton were highly respected for their undercover work and fighting abilities by people from both ARGUS and SHIELD.

"The man they fought was enhanced with some type of super-serum. The DNA sample Barton managed to get showed traces of chemicals only used by Japanese scientists during WW2"

"Mirakuru." Waller frowned. "I thought the intel on it was that it was never fully successful."

"Well it appears they were wrong because somehow he got his hands on some and it works."

Waller closed her eyes. "If word gets out that there's a new functioning super serum out there, we'll have an arms race where everyone will try to create their own."

"I don't know how closely you've been paying attention, but we're already there." Coulson said.

Waller frowned. "General Talbot's experiments with Dr. Banner were not sanctioned by the government and I can't help but notice that SHIELD didn't intervene."

"We can throw blame all day long; it won't solve the issue. I've got an extraterrestrial unknown in the same vicinity as a power mad super-soldier who's trying to create more."

Waller stiffened. "Those deaths in the glades…" She began. Coulson nodded.

"They weren't overdoses." He sighed. "There was never any definite proof linking Deathstroke to Shado Corp, but we know he's affiliated. I would appreciate your help with this Amanda." He held out his hand. "Do we have a deal?"

* * *

Felicity frowned at her tablet, as she looked over the blog post again. Sipping her coffee she rubbed her forehead trying to make sense of what she was reading. She'd been searching the net to make sure there were no traces of Thor's arrival and had fallen through an internet rabbit hole into the weird world of alien sighting blogs when one in particular had caught her eye. Thor snored on the couch. Felicity glanced his way and smiled. She'd fallen asleep on the couch last night, but when she'd woken up she found herself in her bed. Thor had probably carried her there after she'd fallen asleep. He'd even been considerate enough to take off her glasses for her. The thought of him holding her made her blush.

Turning her attention back to the screen her frown deepened; the blog post she'd been reading was gone.

"Where did you go?" she muttered, looking, but finding no trace. It was if it had never been posted. Grabbing her lap top, she tried hacking the site, but there was still nothing. "Damn it."

"What troubles you?" Thor was sitting up, looking at her in amusement. His hair was tousled and his eyes were only half open. Felicity blinked at him. How did he look so good this early?

"You sound like my brother, Loki." Thor said as he stood and stretched. "He often made snide comments on my morning appearance."

Felicity put her head on the counter. "Why can't things stay in my head?"

Thor sauntered over to stand behind her. "What are you doing?" He asked, looking at her computer with curiosity.

"I've been checking the internet for any reference to weird lights in the sky. I wanted to make sure no one could find you here because it would be really bad if some crazy scientist found you and strapped you to a table to open you up and see how you worked." She shuddered. "Anyways, I found this article on a site, ironically called Roswell was real dot com. They didn't find your crash site, but they said there was another one. "

Thor's eyes widened. "Could someone have followed me?" He murmured.

"The guy who wrote the article was ranting about hammers falling from the sky and that before he got a better look, a bunch of people in black vans wearing suits showed up and blocked access to it. Which means –"

"Mjolnir." Thor said, his eyes lighting up. Felicity frowned.

"Mully what now?" She asked.

"Mjol – nir." Thor said slower. "My hammer." He was grinning from ear to ear. Straightening up, he scrunched up his face in concentration and held out his hand. Felicity didn't know whether to laugh or be concerned.

"Your hammer has a name?" She said.

"Yes." Thor said through gritted teeth.

"And you're trying to bring it to you using the Force?"

"You may want to open the door and then get behind me." Thor said, "I wouldn't want the door damaged or you injured as a result."

Felicity let out a disbelieving cough. Thor opened one eye and gave her a look. She scrambled to the door, opening it.

"Get behind me, lady Felicity." Thor said, this time it wasn't a request. He sounded genuinely concerned. Felicity moved to stand behind him. They waited, standing, watching the door. Thor's expression turned from concentration to irritation and finally to sadness. Dropping his hand he let out a frustrated yell.

"Maybe you're out of range." Felicity suggested. "Here," she went over to her computer. "I can hack the guy's account, then find his cellphone and use its built in GPS to see where he was Sunday night around the time I found you and then –"

Thor closed the door. He stood with his back to her, facing the closed door. "I am well and truly banished." He said. Turning slightly, he looked at Felicity. "Thank you for your efforts, lady Felicity, but it is of no matter. If I cannot summon Mjolnir it means the magic which binds us has been severed." His shoulders were slumped and for the first time, Felicity realized how much he'd been holding back. That he'd been putting on a brave face and hadn't really faced the truth of his banishment until this moment.

"I'm sorry." She said, coming closer to stand next to him.

"I brought this upon myself." Thor bowed his head, "I am not worthy of your pity." He turned away. Felicity felt a rush of anger at Thor's father. What kind of person forced someone to live in an unfamiliar place cut off from any person they could turn to for help? What kind of parent did that to their own flesh and blood?

"I don't know what you did." She said. "and I frankly I don't care. Whatever it was, I can't imagine that it was worth you being sent here alone."

Thor looked at her as if she were the strangest thing he'd ever seen. "How can you be so sure?" He asked.

"I'm good at reading people." She shrugged.

"Read?" Thor asked, softly.

"It means I can tell that you're a good person." She explained.

Thor gave her a sad smile. "In all the 9 realms," he said, reaching to push a hair back from her face. "I do not believe there is anyone quite like you, lady Felicity."

Her breath caught, his fingers were so warm and -

There was the sound of a key turning in the lock. Thor quickly pushed Felicity behind him as the nob turned and the door opened.

"I hope you're decent because I brought soup to help you…" Digg opened the door, and froze when he saw Thor standing in front of him with Felicity trying to peek over his shoulder.

"Hey Digg." Felicity grinned nervously. "Nice day we're having right? Not that I would know I haven't really left the house yet."

"I'll bet." Digg said, looking Thor up and down. "I thought you were sick."

"Well, that might have been a bit of a lie." Felicity said. "Maybe we should take this inside." She tugged on Thor's shirt. "It's okay, he's my friend." Thor looked at her, then stepped aside. Digg walked in. "You know, when I gave you that key it was for emergencies only." She frowned.

"Going MIA for 2 days without answering my calls is an emergency." Digg said. "Oliver and Sara told me you weren't feeling well and when you weren't in the lair this morning I decided to check on you." He looked back at Thor. "I didn't think you'd have company." He shook his head. "Look, I have no problem with you taking a weekend to…" he cleared his throat uncomfortably, "and lord knows you can't be honest with Oliver about it because he's Oliver, but at least give me a head's up?" He held up a bag. "That way I won't have to go and buy soup."

"Mmm that smells so good." Felicity stretched out her hand for it.

"Ah ah." Digg held it out of her reach. "You made me worry; now you get to watch me eat it." He held out his other hand to Thor. "Sergeant John Diggle, Special Forces."

Felicity rolled her eyes at Digg's protective instincts. "Former special forces." She muttered.

"You never really leave special forces." Digg retorted. "The training stays with you. Ready to be used in any given situation." He gave Thor's hand a squeeze which Thor easily reciprocated.

Thor grinned. "Thor Odinsson, it is good to meet a warrior of Midgard, Especially one who is a friend of the lady Felicity."

Felicity couldn't help but giggle at Diggle's wide eyed expression. He looked at her, unsure how to respond. "Did you meet at a Shakespeare festival?" He asked as he let go of Thor's hand.

"That's actually less weird than the truth." Felicity mumbled.

"The lady provided me shelter after my banishment." Thor explained. Digg gave him a blank look.

"Okay, if this is a joke, I don't get it."

Felicity bit her lip. She knew she could trust Digg, but she was unsure whether Thor wanted to trust him. Thor turned to her.

"What do you read from him?" He said, attempting to use Felicity's earlier phrase. She ducked her head, hiding her blush. Not only had he listened, he trusted her judgement.

"Digg's my best friend, he's basically my brother." She said. "You can trust him."

Thor nodded, looking at Digg, he squared his shoulders. "My name is Thor Odinsson, son of the Allfather and prince of Asgard."

Digg coughed, then looked over at Felicity as if waiting for a punchline. Felicity gave him a small nod.

"Digg, you might want to sit down." She murmured.

20 minutes later Digg was sitting on her sofa, shell shocked. Felicity handed him a cup of coffee.

"You okay?" She asked.

"Sure." He said, taking the cup but still looking at the ground. "I just tried to give the shovel talk to the god of thunder, I'm great."

"So you believe me?" She asked.

Digg rubbed his forehead and leaned his head back. "I must be out of my mind," he grumbled, "but I do." He looked over at Thor, "at least this explains why SHIELD is in town.

"SHIELD." Felicity's eyes widened. They must have been the men in dark suits near the second crash site.

"You know them?" Digg asked.

"They tried to recruit me." Felicity said. "How do you know them?"

"A mission that went south about 4 years ago in Budapest." Digg said. "It's classified, so I can't give details, but before we were able to intervene SHIELD took over. The things I saw there…shouldn't have been possible and today I saw one of their agents, Clint Barton, outside of the ARGUS building."

"You can't tell Lyla." Felicity said. "If they find Thor, they'll…well I don't know but something tells me they won't be sending him on an all-expense paid vacation to Tahiti."

"I know that," Digg frowned. "I just have one question."

Thor looked at him in surprise. "Only one question, Sergeant?"

"Only one that matters." Digg frowned. "I'm willing to help you in any way I can, but you being here puts Felicity in danger, so I want to know why you were banished."

"Digg." Felicity said. It was true she'd been curious, but hadn't wanted to push because she was worried about how Thor would take it. Digg didn't seem to care.

"Like she said, she's my family." Digg said. "I already lost a brother; I'm not losing her too. So I need to know that the guy she put herself in danger over is worth it."

Felicity was about to protest, when Thor put his hand on her arm.

"He is right lady Felicity, I owe you an explanation." He took a deep breath. "Thousands of years ago, the 9 realms were at war. Frost giants from Jotunheim fought us for control. My father defeated them forcing them to flee in terror back to their frozen realm. Ever since then Asgard remained unchallenged and we prospered." He paused. "It was the day of my coronation. All of Asgard had gathered to see me crowned the next king. It was glorious, there would have been feasting and tournaments for days, but Frost Giants entered Asgard before I could receive my crown and attacked. My father refused to let me take a squadron of warriors into Jotunheim to teach the Frost Giants a lesson so I went on my own with The Warriors 3, Sif and Loki." He paused. "We confronted Laufrey, the king of the Frost Giants who refused to explain how he'd managed to enter Asgard undetected…then he insulted my honor."

"Insulted your honor?" Felicity said. Thor nodded.

"He called me princess." He said, running a hand through his hair. "And implied I was a coward. The conversation then turned…less civilized."

Felicity bit her lip. "Let me guess, swords and battle axes?"

"On the part of Volstagg and Sif, yes." Thor said. "We fought them, but we may have been slightly outnumbered. Then my father arrived. I believed he had come to help us win the battle, but he came to compromise with Laufrey." Thor's hands balled into fists. "We argued, he refused to punish the Frost Giants for attacking Asgard and instead allowed them to continue unchallenged. He stripped me of my powers and banished me for disagreeing with him."

"And then you crashed in the middle of nowhere, where Felicity found you." Digg said. Thor nodded.

"I'm not going to pretend to understand Asgardian politics," Felicity said slowly. "So I can't really say if what you did was right or wrong. What I do know is you're here right now, and there's a bunch of suits looking for you." She sat up straighter. "And leaving you on your own would definitely be wrong." She shot Digg a challenging look. He shook his head.

"Just what she needs, another reckless man with more muscles than sense in her life." Digg muttered. "I'm with her, but I'm warning you, Thor. If she gets hurt as a result, I will be taking it out on you. God or not."

Thor nodded. "You seem to be a man of great honor, Sergeant Diggle, I hope to not disappoint you. And I swear that I will do everything I can to keep the lady Felicity safe."

Digg gave him a look of approval. Then he frowned and looked at Felicity. "What the hell were you doing driving out in the middle of nowhere at midnight on a Friday?"

"I-" She'd been hoping Digg wouldn't have picked up on that fact. "I…" She hung her head. "I was planning on going to the lair to see how Oliver was doing, because of the whole mess with his mom and…I saw something I probably shouldn't have." She mumbled. Digg's eyes widened. He knew, of course he did; she was probably the last one to know.

"No, I just figured it out yesterday." Digg said. "And yes you did say that out loud." He frowned. "In the lair?"

"He doesn't know I saw." Felicity said quickly.

"I'll bet he doesn't." Digg stood. "That doesn't make it right. What was he thinking?"

"He probably wasn't." Felicity muttered. "So it's official then, they really are…" She stopped, unable to voice it. Digg nodded, taking a sip of coffee.

"How could he do that to Laurel?"

"Laurel?" Digg choked in surprise. "Felicity, you are something else." He wiped his mouth and put down the cup. Felicity bit her lip.

"It's just, she's Sara's sister and after the whole boat thing them being...together is…" She shuddered.

Digg held out his arms and she stepped into them. "Sometimes, you need to think of yourself." He said. "You don't need to come to the lair today. "

"Thanks, I don't think I'm going to be able to go down there without the mats bringing back traumatic images." Felicity muttered. Digg groaned.

"The mats? We train on those things." He pulled away. "That's just unsanitary."

"Want me to order new ones?" Felicity said.

Digg nodded. "Then we can have a ceremonial burning of the old ones."

Felicity giggled. "I'll see you at work tomorrow."

"Be good you two." Digg said, looking at Thor.

"I would not presume to dishonor the lady Felicity." Thor said, solemnly.

"I like this guy." Digg said, "I'll let you keep the soup." He shut the door behind him.

Felicity grabbed the bag and opened it. "Breakfast!" She grinned, moving towards the kitchen. Turning, she saw that Thor was still in the living room. "Do you want to help?"

"If you require it of me." Thor said slowly.

"Why are you nervous?" Felicity asked. "It's just reheating soup and toasting some bread. Even you can't mess that up too much." She gave him a smile to show she was joking.

He came into the kitchen. "I was unsure that you would still treat me the same after you learned the reason for my banishment."

"Like I said," Felicity smiled. "I don't know anything about Asgardian politics." She shrugged. "There should be some toast in the fridge." She paused, turning to look at him with a serious expression. "Can I trust you to turn on the stove?" She giggled as Thor looked insulted.

"It will be difficult." He said, adopting her grave expression. "But I do believe I can manage."

"Good. The safety of Midgard is in your hands." Felicity stepped aside and went to the fridge.


	7. Chapter 7

Felicity walked towards Queen Consolidated early Monday morning. She'd prepared a speech for Oliver that she'd practiced on the drive over. She'd tell him about Thor. If SHIELD was in Starling, he deserved to know. There was a good chance that they wouldn't be too happy about a vigilante like the Arrow running around. She stopped at the bottom of the steps and look up at the towering building. "He's probably not even there yet." She muttered. Thor had been inspected her bookshelf and while he seemed upset that he'd be alone, he'd declared that he would find a way to entertain himself. She was about to walk up the stairs when a large black van pulled up in front of the building. She frowned at it. Then a hand went on her arm.

"Don't scream. My name is agent Clint Barton and I'm with SHIELD. I'm going to need you to turn around and move your pretty self into that van." The man who'd grabbed her arm said in her ear.

Felicity pulled her arm away and turned to glare at a tall dirty blonde man in sunglasses. "What do you want from me?"

"Look darlin', we can do this the easy way or the I throw you over my shoulder and embarrass you in front of your workplace way." He smirked. "And I'm guessing you'd rather avoid option 2 because that dress is really short." He added looking at her legs. Felicity glared at him.

"Prove you're SHIELD or I start screaming bloody murder."

"Barton." A man in a suit and sunglasses came out of the van, looking exasperated. "Stand down." He held out his hand. "My name is Phil Coulson. I'm sorry about Barton, he was raised in the circus and manners aren't his strong suit. We are going to need you to get into the van though." He held out a badge, which Felicity recognized as SHIELD. She nodded and stepped into the van as Coulson held the door open.

Relax. She thought. You've done nothing wrong.

"Not true." Barton said as he slid in next to her. "According to our intel you've been a very bad girl Ms. Smoak."

"Barton." Coulson groaned, closing the door. The van began moving.

"No fair, Romanov gets to flirt with her marks all the time." Barton whined.

"Romanov actually gets results." Coulson shot back. "And that wasn't flirting, it was sexual harassment."

Felicity crossed her arms. "I already told you guys I'm not joining SHIELD."

"That's fine." Coulson said. "We aren't here to try to convince you to change your mind. We're talking to you because we need a liaison to the Arrow."

"And what makes you think I know anything about him?" Felicity asked, trying not to panic. How did they know she was connected to Arrow?

"You were brought in for questioning as a possible associate by then detective Lance about a year ago." Coulson said.

"I was cleared and no charges were filed." Felicity retorted.

"Then there's the incident with the Count." Coulson continued. "The police report said the Arrow killed to protect you, even though he hadn't killed since the earthquake. You must be pretty special to him for him to make such a decision."

"I'm not that special." Felicity muttered. "He was just doing his job protecting the people of Starling. I was lucky he came in time to stop the count from killing me."

Coulson and Barton shared looks.

"Don't quit your day job, darlin'." Barton said, leaning back in the seat and shaking his head in exasperation. "But consider quitting your night job; you're a horrible liar."

"We know you're the Arrow's technical assistant." Coulson said. "And though we don't particularly approve of his methods."

"Or plagiarism in terms of weapon choices." Barton grumbled.

"We need his help." Coulson said, forcefully cutting Barton off. "There's an enhanced mercenary threatening the city and a possible extraterrestrial threat."

Felicity gaped at them. Luckily they interpreted her surprise as a reaction to the extraterrestrial detail.

"Yes, little green men exist." Barton said. "We're not alone, there's life on mars and –"

"Why did I bring you?" Coulson covered his face.

"Because of my wit, charm, and good looks?" Barton suggested.

"There's a potential alien threat walking around Starling. We need the Arrow to be apprised of the situation and, should there be trouble, we might want to use him and the woman in black to help us contain it." Coulson said, ignoring Barton.

"Maybe the alien isn't bad." Felicity blurted out.

They looked at her blankly.

"You don't know them. What if it's an ET situation and they're only interested in harvesting plants or something." She said quickly. "Containing just sounds like you're going to take them apart and experiment on them."

"We want to verify they pose no threat to the people of Starling." Coulson said. "Or earth."

Felicity bit her lip. "I'll relay your message to the Arrow." She said. She wanted out of the car.

"Good." The car had circled around the block and stopped back in front of Queen Consolidated. Coulson opened the door. "Have a good day at work, Ms. Smoak."

She got out and fought the urge to run into the building. Keeping calm she entered the elevator. The second the doors closed, she leaned back against the elevator wall, her legs shaking.

* * *

Oliver had gotten to QC early that morning because he planned on confronting Felicity. She hadn't been at the foundry the night before and he couldn't have her blowing off Arrow business because she was sleeping with that surfer looking guy. He was walking towards the building when he caught sight of her in front of the stairs. She seemed nervous, then a tall blonde man walked up behind her. He grabbed her arm and whispered something in her ear. Oliver was about to rush over and tear her away from him when a voice from behind him distracted him.

"Mr. Queen."

He froze.

"Amanda." He turned to see Amanda Waller standing behind him.

"Let's take a ride."

He looked back at Felicity, who was talking to the blonde and a man in a suit and sunglasses.

"Don't concern yourself with her, those are SHIELD agents." Waller sounded disinterested.

"SHIELD?" Oliver made to grab her, but Waller gripped his arm.

"They want her because of her connection to the Arrow." She hissed. "They don't know who you are and I want to keep it that way." She waited until the car pulled away, then let go of his arm. Walking towards the building she motioned for him to follow.

"What do you want?" Oliver growled. "And why is SHIELD interested in the Arrow?"

"Because an extraterrestrial landed outside of Starling on Friday night and they want the Arrow's cooperation in tracking it down." Waller said. "We have much to discuss, Mr. Queen."

* * *

Felicity got off on the executive floor. The office was empty, which was a relief. She could not deal with Oliver drama right now. The first thing she did was check to see if SHIELD had planted a bug on her. Then she checked the security on her phone. She'd double check the Arrow Cave's firewall later. She called the phone she'd gotten Thor.

"HELLO" Thor shouted into phone. Felicity practically jumped out of her skin. "ARE YOU ABLE TO HEAR ME, LADY FELICITY?"

"Yes." Felicity squeaked, "You don't have to yell." She took a shuddering breath.

"Apologies." Thor said. "It is unnerving talking to you when I cannot see you."

"Is….is everything okay?" She asked.

"Yes." Thor sounded confused. "Are you concerned that I might have set the kitchen on fire? Because I have not been near it."

"No… no no no." She giggled. "I was just checking that…um never mind, I'll explain later. Just do me a favor and don't answer the door for anyone or anything."

"Are you alright, lady Felicity?" Thor sounded concerned. "Your cadence of speech implies distress."

"I'll tell you when I get back. Just…don't answer the door unless it's me." She hung up. drumming her fingers nervously on her desk. Finally, Digg came into the office. He frowned when he saw Oliver's empty desk.

"Where's…?" He pointed to the desk.

"It was empty when I got here." Felicity shrugged. "I'm used to it." Digg frowned, scrutinizing her face.

"What's wrong?"

"SHIELD." Felicity said, shaking.

"Did they threaten you?" Digg tensed, looking around the office for potential threats.

"No, they just wanted me to contact the Arrow, they found out I work for him, but not who he is." She looked at her desk. "Though it's probably only a matter of time before they figure it out." She shuddered. "They want to "find the extraterrestrial and see if it poses a threat." She made air quotes. "IT, they act like he's not a person."

Digg sat across from her desk. "We knew they were looking for him."

"I just didn't except them to get so close so quickly." Felicity said.

"Do we tell Oliver?" Digg asked.

"I…" She stared out at the hallway. The elevator opened and Oliver came onto the floor. "Oliver."

He frowned at them. "I didn't think you'd be here." He said, going into his office.

"What?" Felicity frowned and got up, following him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just that you haven't really been putting work as your first priority." Oliver said, crossing his arms. "I know this job isn't what you wanted, but blowing off work to hook up with –"

"Oliver, you need to stop because it's getting really hard for me not to strangle you." Felicity hissed. "I was not the one blowing off work to hook up with someone."

"Oh, really? So you were actually sick on Saturday?" He retorted. "And I'm guessing the man who I saw you flirting with on your couch was your doctor."

"No." Felicity shot back. "I took off work to help a friend who lost his clothes…His suitcase. And were you looking through my window?"

"I came to check on you." Oliver retorted.

"No." Digg said. "That's a lie, you went there to apologize."

"It was before I saw that she lied to me."

"You lied to me." Felicity shouted.

Oliver's eyes widened. Then he looked at Digg, betrayed.

"Don't blame Digg, I found out about you and Sara on my own." Felicity said. "I saw you on Friday." Oliver looked at the ground, guilty.

There was a beeping from her computer. She cleared her throat. "That's my Arrow alert." She rushed back to her desk. Digg followed.

"Arrow alert?" He chuckled.

"I set up a warning algorithm in case a serious crime came up." She frowned. "There was a bank robbery last night, and it only got reported today."' She began typing. "I'm going to need to use the lair computers." She looked back at Oliver, who was still standing in his office. He was about to say something when Isabel arrived.

"Mr. Queen, I need to see you about the stock numbers last Friday." She swept in, ignoring Felicity and Digg. Digg sat back in his chair next to Felicity's desk.

"Settle in, we're going to be here for a long time." He said watching Isabel begin berating Oliver.

Hours later, when Isabel left, Moira walked in with Thea. It was the only way she could get Oliver to talk to her.

"We'll be leaving for lunch and a campaign luncheon." She said dismissively to Digg and Felicity. "Don't expect him back." She glared at Felicity as Thea looped her arm through Oliver's and began chatting with him on the way to the elevator. Felicity forced herself to smile back, her face hurting with the effort.

"You okay?" Digg asked as the Queen family left.

"This may be the worst day ever." Felicity grumbled.


	8. Chapter 8

Thor was concerned. It had been 2 days since Felicity had begun going to work. She seemed worried. She'd come back the first day and explained that SHIELD had approached her about finding him. She'd been furious and he'd been quite amused to watch her indignation when she decried their tactics of intimidation, but that indignation had given way to a unease. She would come home every day extremely nervous and irritable. After eating something, she'd leave with Sergeant Diggle and Thor wouldn't see her until very late, often in the early hours of the morning. Each time, she seemed distressed, angry and irritated. He had a theory about the cause of her moods, but he hadn't had the chance to talk to her about it. He'd decided to confront her that night, but when Sergeant Diggle brought her back, she was in no condition to have a serious conversation.

"My lady, what has happened to you?" He said, looking at Felicity's dizziness and wide, dilated pupils. She appeared intoxicated.

"Aspirin" She said, swaying and grabbing onto Diggle's arm for support. "That's what he told me, but I think he's lying." She giggled.

Diggle helped her into the apartment.

"Are you drunk?" Thor asked.

"Noooooooo." She said, grinning. "I'm just happy." She stepped away from Diggle only to fall forward. Thor grabbed her. "You have really big arms and it's not fair that SHIELD wants to lock you up. They're mean." She pressed her face against his chest. "You're nice…and strong and muscley."

Thor held her awkwardly and looked up at Sergeant Diggle. "What happened to her?" He growled. Diggle crossed his arms, indignantly. Thor knew he didn't like the implication that Felicity had come to harm because of him.

Diggle sighed. "I'm guessing she didn't give you the details of our night job."

"No, and I presumed it would be rude to ask." Thor asked.

"She got shot in the shoulder." Digg said. Thor looked down at her. Felicity had ducked her head in embarrassment.

"Shot? She entered battle?" He frowned. "And you allowed it? She has no formal training."

"She has basic self-defense training from me and we didn't know she was out in the field until it was too late." Diggle looked amused. "And she wasn't in the middle of it; she jumped in front of a bullet to save a friend."

"Why?" Thor said. Scrutinizing Felicity's shoulder, he tried to access her injuries. "Has she been to a healer?"

Diggle nodded."She was feeling a little insecure." He explained. "She decided to prove she could be a part of the team, ignoring the fact that she had nothing to prove." He directed the last comment at Felicity. She covered her face and pressed it harder against Thor's chest.

"Mean." She whimpered.

"No, I'm worried about you." Diggle was clearly annoyed with her. "You've been acting erratically ever since Friday."

Felicity looked at the ground. "I just…I wanted to be badass like Sara."

"Why?" Diggle asked. "We can't survive without you. Putting yourself in danger to prove something to Oliver isn't worth whatever approval he gave you."

"I know." Felicity said softly.

Thor frowned. "Is this Oliver the Arrow?" Diggle and Felicity looked at each other.

"I didn't tell him." Felicity said, yawning. "He makes a really nice pillow though, so don't dismember him for discovering our deep dark secret."

Diggle covered his eyes. "Yes," He said evenly. "How did you know?"

"I am not entirely foolish." Thor bristled at the Sergeant's lack of faith in his intelligence. It was something he was used to, growing up with Loki besting him at all academic challenges, but to be thought of as unintelligent when Loki wasn't there for him to be compared with stung. "I know I may be ignorant of much Midgardian society, but I am capable of seeing and understanding a pattern." He helped Felicity over to her bed. She pouted, but obediently got under the blankets. "She's been coming back late and the box of moving pictures had reports on the Arrow being sighted the last two nights." He frowned. "And when I met the lady Sara a few days ago I noted that she had the bearing of a warrior." He crossed his arms. "She is the Canary, is she not?"

Diggle nodded.

"He's smart." Felicity said. "Beauty and brains… we should keep him." She sighed, smiling lazily.

Thor felt a rush of affection for the small mortal woman and a stab of anger for the man who had led her to doubt herself and use such a drastic demonstration to prove her worth. "Does the Arrow not value her expertise?"

"He does, he just has a terrible track record when it comes to being honest about his feelings." Diggle looked at Felicity who was tracing circles on her blanket. "I gave her some pain killers so she wouldn't feel too much pain when Sara stitched her up. They're obviously affecting her judgement" He bit his lip. "Can you make sure she doesn't get hurt?"

Thor knew he wasn't referring to her injuries; he wanted to be sure that Thor wouldn't take advantage of Felicity's vulnerability.

"I'm not a child." Felicity shouted at him.

"No, you're a big girl." Diggle said sarcastically. Felicity clearly didn't hear it as an insult and his remark made her grin.

"I will guard the lady Felicity with my life." Thor said solemnly. "No harm will come to her whilst I am here." He communicated with his eyes the unspoken message that he would not compromise her virtue. Sergeant Diggle seemed to understand because he relaxed his stance.

"Good." Diggle gave Thor a nod, and went to Felicity's side. "No more thrilling heroics tonight. You hear?"

"Yes sir." Felicity gave him a salute. Diggle hugged her, then left. Thor moved to stand in the doorframe of Felicity's bedchambers and looked at her.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the Arrow stuff." Felicity said, looking ashamed.

"You were guarding your friend's secret." Thor said, "There is no harm in that."

"I didn't tell Oliver about you and…" She made a falling motion accompanied by a whooshing sound. Thor chuckled.

"I never doubted you." He said. It was true; he never for a moment believed that Felicity would betray his trust. "Though I would have understood if you did."

Felicity looked at the blanket. "I almost did." She said. "Before SHIELD showed up. But then he acted like a real jerk and I…I didn't think he'd handle it well. Especially since he was…I think he might have been spying on me? He said he saw us on Saturday night" Thor moved into the room.

"Spying? Is that acceptable behavior for friends to engage in on Midgard?" Thor asked.

"No. Apparently he was supposed to apologize and he saw you and…he left." Felicity sighed.

"And this is the man you tried to prove your worth to by deliberately placing yourself in danger?" Thor growled.

"I got a scar!" Felicity said, excitement evident. It was clear that a serious conversation could not be had while she was under the effect of this drug. He watched as she turned and pulled her shirt down off her shoulder. "See!" Thor could in fact see stitching over a wound. He ran his fingers above her scar.

"You are indeed a formidable fighter, lady Felicity." He said. "I hope I never incur your wrath for I would not want to face you in battle."

She sighed and smiled at him. "I know you're making fun of me, but with your accent it sounds soooo…mmm" she hummed. Thor shook his head, his concern turning to amusement.

"You are quite intoxicated." He chuckled.

"Stay with me?" Felicity asked, patting the bed next to her. "I promise to keep my hands to myself…mostly." She admitted. "I do like cuddling."

Thor sat next to her. "How could I refuse a request like that from such a valiant warrior?"

Felicity yawned. "I just pushed Sara out of the way. It wasn't very heroic." She blushed.

Thor shook his head. "You risked your life for that of another. There is no higher form of hero."

Felicity smiled. "Damn right. Tockman messed with my computers. No one messes with my computers." She declared. Thor found her determination quite adorable. "See you in the morning." She yawned and laid down. Thor gave her a small smile as she slowly fell asleep with her mouth open.

* * *

Across realms, Loki watched his brother look adoringly at the small blonde falling asleep next to him. He gripped his staff and frowned. This would not do. His brother being banished was definitely an unexpected surprise; he hadn't expected Odin to react with so much anger. But it worked out well for his plans. In fact, he preferred it this way especially since he'd discovered the truth about his parentage. Thor was always the golden son; the future king. He'd been a fool to believe he could ever have the throne of Asgard. He looked on his brother's serene features with loathing. Loki wanted him to suffer. Thor befriending this small woman and taking shelter in her home was unacceptable. He felt his anger grow. Everywhere Thor went he was always adored and idolized. He always got everything he wanted while Loki had to scrounge and fight and for what? A throne he'd never have. Well the joke was on Thor and Odin. A frost giant was on the throne of Asgard while one slept and the other was banished. Loki would prove himself more capable than either of them. He just needed to ensure that his bumbling brother never bothered him again. He looked at the small blonde next to Thor. She was beautiful for a mortal. His brother's unwillingness to copulate with her was unlike Thor. Could it be that he was learning restraint? Loki found it hard to believe. Perhaps she was the key. He'd observed her and her companions ever since Thor had fallen into her life. There was a threat to them that they weren't even aware of yet. He smiled as Thor gently pushed her hair out of her face, open affection on his features. Without his powers, Thor was vulnerable and the dangers in this woman's life would be his undoing.


	9. Chapter 9

Felicity's head was pounding when she woke up. Pulling the blanket over her head she groaned. "That was definitely not aspirin." There was a sharp pain in her shoulder and she touched it gingerly. The skin around the stitches had swollen and was warm. She hissed.

"You will need to disinfect it." Thor's voice said gently. She turned abruptly. He was sitting next to her, in her bed. This was either the beginning of an awesome dream or she'd done something the night before that would lead to awkwardness and shame. Thor's rumbling laugh made her bury her face in her pillow. She hadn't managed to keep her thoughts to herself.

"This is no dream." Thor said. "Though I feel as though I should be insulted that you implied that a night spent with me would result in awkwardness and why would you have to be ashamed?"

"Because you're a god and I'm a lowly mortal." Felicity muttered. "And we sort of live together so the whole sleeping together thing would definitely be a bad idea. Please tell me I didn't say anything embarrassing last night."

Thor looked at her, bemused. "No," he said slowly. "Well you did tell Sergeant Diggle that I made a nice pillow." He grinned as Felicity flushed red. "And you declared that you should keep me because of my beauty and brains."

"Urgh." Felicity winced as scattered memories of the previous night's events came back to her. "The worst thing is that it wasn't even the most embarrassing thing I said." She shuddered as she remembered her conversation with Oliver. She'd been so desperate to reassure herself that she was his girl. Her face burned with shame as she remembered the amused look he'd given her. She covered her face.

Thor gently put his hand on her shoulder. "Do you want to talk about it?" He asked softly.

"I don't know." She said, her voice muffled by her hands.

"Does it have to do with Oliver?" Thor asked. Felicity stiffened. "Your negative moods often tend to coincide with mention of him." he continued.

"It's…complicated." Felicity said finally.

"You care for him." Thor said. "That much is obvious and he is too foolish to see how fortunate he is and has chosen to bestow his affections on another."

Felicity sat up and leaned against the headboard. She gave him a grim smile. "You're really observant." She said, ducking her head and staring at her fingers. "Because of the life he leads he can't be with…" she was about to repeat Oliver's excuse to her, but she trailed off, the words sounding hollow in her ears. She opted for the truth. "He doesn't want to be with me because he's afraid of me getting hurt. I can't really defend myself and Sara…she can. He loves her and doesn't have to worry about her safety."

"Why do you bother yourself with this man when he is clearly not worthy of your affections?" Thor asked.

"I…" Felicity frowned. "You know, I'm not entirely sure."

"It seems to me that he has hurt you more than he has helped you." Thor said.

"Well he's saved me a bunch of times." Felicity said, cringing at the admission. "Which is probably why he thinks I'm weak." She added in an undertone.

"Would you have been in those hazardous situations had you not met him?" Thor asked.

Felicity bit her lip. "No," she admitted, "but I like helping people. Being on Team Arrow means I use my skills for good."

"And I would not presume to say your contribution is not important." Thor said. "I just believe that your friend does not necessarily value it." He frowned. "And I do not believe that you needing to be saved makes you weak."

Felicity winced. Thor was voicing the things she'd been telling herself ever since the Russia incident. Actually ever since Oliver had made her his executive assistant…or since he'd left them after the earthquake. "I'm way too woozy to have this conversation." She glanced over at the clock. "SHIT, I'm late." She made to scramble out of bed, but Thor pulled her back.

"Sergeant Diggle came by about a half hour ago to inform me that under no circumstances am I allowed to let you out of this house." Thor said, smirking. "and I absolutely agree."

Felicity huffed. "A, don't call him Sergeant Diggle. Just call him Digg. B, since when are you plotting against me and C, Oliver will have kittens if…" Thor gave her a look. "What?"

"No circumstances." Thor said.

"And what do you think you can do to stop me?" Felicity shot back. Thor chuckled as she made another scramble for the door. He grabbed her around the waist and held her. She struggled against him. "Let me go." She growled.

"I can do this all day, Lady Smoak." Thor said, amused. Felicity realized with irritation that he only had one arm around her.

"This is a damn game to you." She hissed.

"True." Thor said. "But it is an amusing one." He grinned as she made another break for the door.

"Let me gooooo." She whined leaning against him. Thor shook his head.

"Only if you make a solemn promise not to make another escape attempt." Thor said. Felicity nodded. A day away from the office did sound nice. No Isabel berating her or Oliver grousing or Moira lurking trying get Oliver to talk to her and shooting Felicity death stares when he ignored her.

"Deal." She said.

"Good." Thor said. "Now I believe Sergeant… Digg brought something called bagels?"

Felicity's eyes lit up. "With cream cheese?" She asked. Thor nodded, uncertainly.

"Yes!" She punched the air. "I love breakfast when other people make it." She jumped forward only to be pulled back again by Thor. "I'm only going to the kitchen." She said.

"My apologies." Thor said, letting her go. She rushed into the kitchen looking for breakfast. He followed her. "We need to tend to your injury." He admonished.

"I'll just pour some rubbing alcohol on it." Felicity said dismissively. At least she thought that's what she should do. She wasn't sure what the protocol on bullet wound treatment was.

Thor looked horrified. "Sit." He instructed, pointing at the couch. She did as he asked. He went into the bath room. She heard him looking through her medicine cabinet. He came back a few seconds later, holding some bandages and her first aid kit. He held up the Neosporin. "Am I correct in assuming that this is a disinfectant?" He asked. She nodded. He opened the tube and gently put it on her stitches. Then put fresh gauze and medical tape on it.

"You're very good at this." Felicity murmured, straining her neck looking over her shoulder to watch what he was doing.

"Learning to care for wounds is a necessary portion of battle training." Thor explained as he stood putting away the first aid kit. "Now I've done all I can…and we probably will not have to amputate." His voice was grave. Felicity looked at him in horror. "Though things are never certain." He added, morosely.

"What?" Felicity squeaked. She glared as his shoulders started shaking. "You're evil."

"You looked so serious." He laughed, "I believed a little jest would lighten your mood."

Felicity crossed her arms. "The god of thunder has jokes." She smiled. "It's on, buddy. I'm going to get you for that one."

"I look forward to the challenge." Thor said sincerely, sitting next to her, putting his arm on the top of the couch. Felicity leaned against his forearm. "Although, I feel that I should warn you that my brother is the good of mischief. I know a thing or two about practical jokes." He reached out and played with a strand of her hair.

"I'm thinking movie day." She squeaked, quickly pulling back and motioning to her DVD collection in attempt to put a little distance between them "Pick some thing." Thor frowned and knelt by the DVD shelf under the TV.

"What is…the princess bride?"

Felicity grinned. "Oh, you're going to love it."

Spending the day on the couch with Thor was a lot of fun. They talked, watched movies, and Felicity couldn't stop giggling as he commented on them. (Where is this school for wizards? I would have words with their instructors because they are neglecting many tenants of traditional magical training).

Finally 6 o' clock rolled around and Digg came over.

"Hey." Felicity said, "how was work?" He shook his head, grabbing a fortune cookie from the table where the Chinese takeout they'd eaten for lunch was still sitting.

"Your perseverance will pay off." He read, frowning.

"In bed." Thor said grinning. Digg gaped at him and then looked at Felicity.

"Why are you blaming me?" She said, fighting the urge to laugh at Thor's self-satisfied look.

"You're right, I'm sure he learned it from the other accidental innuendo spouting blonde he knows." Digg shook his head, chewing the cookie.

"I couldn't help it." Felicity said, blushing. "His fortune said you will live with the strength of a tiger."

Digg choked. "I definitely gave you too much aspirin." He muttered.

"You can stop lying to me, Digg." Felicity rolled her eyes. "I know it wasn't aspirin." She looked at her fingers, her temporary happy bubble burst as she contemplated why he might be there. "I'm guessing you're here to bring me to the lair?"

"Well you're not driving." Digg motioned her over to him. "Let me see those stitches." Felicity sighed and pulled down the collar of her shirt, showing him her shoulder. "You changed the bandages?" He asked, inspecting the cut.

"I did." Thor spoke up. "I have much experience cleaning wounds in battle." Digg nodded his approval.

"Well, grab your keys." He said, standing.

"I would come as well." Thor said. Felicity and Digg looked at him in surprise. "If the people of SHIELD are truly hunting me, then it would be good for the rest of your team to know. In addition, I want to meet this…Oliver."

"I'm not sure it's a good idea…" Felicity said nervously. Digg snorted.

"I think it's a great one." He said. "This way we get everything out on the table and Oliver stops obsessively googling local surf instructors."

"What?" Felicity turned to Digg.

"He's trying to gather intel on your 'secret boyfriend'." Digg shook his head. "Sara told me. It would be funny if it weren't so ridiculous."

They made their way to the lair. Felicity's anxiety must have been showing on her face, because Thor took her hand and gave it a squeeze. "It will be alright." He assured her as they made their way into the Arrow cave. Walking down the stairs, she could see that Sara was giving Roy archery lessons. Oliver was nowhere in sight.

"Keep him away from my screens." She said. Roy frowned at her.

"I'm not aiming for them."

"That's what I'm afraid of." She retorted. Roy was about to say something back when he caught sight of Thor standing behind her.

"Barbie, who is that?" He asked.

Sara turned and looked at them. "Felicity…what's your friend Thor doing here?" She tilted her head. "This isn't exactly a tourist friendly environment and Ollie won't like him being here." She crossed her arms. "Or that you told him our secret."

"She didn't tell him anything." Digg said. "Thor figured it out on his own." He looked around the lair. "Where's Oliver? We have something really important to tell him."

"Thea called him." Sara said. "He's up at the Queen Mansion." She hadn't taken her eyes off Thor, and Felicity had been around Oliver and Digg long enough not to be fooled by her nonchalant attitude. She saw Thor as a threat and was assessing him for weakness and calculating the best way to take him down. If Thor's amused look was any indication, he'd noticed it too.

Her phone rang, distracting everyone. She pulled it out.

"Speak of the devil." She murmured when she saw Oliver's caller id. "Oliver?" There was talking on the other line, but no indication that Oliver had noticed she'd picked up. There were other voices; Moira, Thea, and a man she didn't know. She was about to hang up when she got an idea. Oliver had been running her ragged all week. There was no reason she couldn't have a little fun at his expense. "I think I've been butt dialed." She said, putting her phone on speaker.

Roy, who was still looking at Thor warily, approached to listen in. Digg leaned against the table, an amused look on his face while Thor looked concerned. "Butt dialed?" he whispered.

"I'll tell you later." She whispered back, not wanting Oliver to know they were listening in. Just then the unidentified man spoke again. Sara, who'd been feigning disinterest in the call suddenly stiffened.

"Slade." She said.

"Who?" Felicity looked at her. Sara was pale; frightened.

"He's…he's supposed to be dead." She said. "But I'd know that voice anywhere. He's really dangerous and he hates Ollie. We have to do something or he'll kill them."

Roy and Digg grabbed weapons and went with Sara towards the door of the lair. Thor was about to follow them, when Felicity held him back.

"I have never shied away from a battle." He said, looking down at her hand on his arm.

"Trust me when I say you aren't equipped for this…not yet." She said. "Our weapons are probably different from what you use on Asgard and…it's not going to be the kind of fight you're used to." Thor searched her face, then nodded.

"I will stay." He said. Felicity let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. Oliver being in danger was bad enough; she didn't want to see Thor hurt either.

She sat in front of her screens. "Okay, Smoak. Focus." She muttered as she hacked a satellite to scan the Queen Mansion. Thor moved behind her to watch, a hand on the back of her chair. "Want to see me work my magic?" she asked, hoping that her quip sounded assured, but her voice and her fingers were shaking. Thor put a steadying hand on her shoulder.

"Show me your witchcraft, my sorceress." He said. She cracked a small smile.

"I'm hoping you meant that as a compliment." She said as she turned on the satellite's thermal vision. Activing the com link she instructed the team on the position of the people in the Queen Mansion. Thor watched her in amazement.

"I most definitely did." He said.

* * *

Slade Wilson drove away from the Queen Mansion, grinning from ear to ear.

"Well that was melodramatic." A voice said from his back seat. "Though I suppose you mortals have such short life spans you lack the time to truly craft the perfect revenge."

Slade gaped at the pale man in green leather who was lounging as though he owned the car.

"Who are you?" He said hoarsely. "And what are you doing in my car?"

"Temper, temper." The man tutted. "I am your saving grace." He sounded bored. "No need to thank me."

Slade gripped the steering wheel. "I don't know how you got into my car, but I should warn you that I am not the man you want to mess with."

The man yawned. "Threatening, how dull. I'm beginning to doubt your ability to join forces with me."

"Why would…" Slade trailed off as the man disappeared. He shook himself.

"You need me." The man's disembodied voice explained, "our goals are aligned. You seek to destroy Oliver Queen and all he holds dear. I want to ensure that my brother remains in the realm of mortals permanently."

"Your brother." Slade growled.

"Thor." The man appeared in the passenger seat. "He has befriended a member of Queen's band of followers. Your mission of revenge will provide the perfect cover to dispatch him." The man's smile struck fear in Slade's heart, a sensation he hadn't felt since Shado's death. "Tell me, have you heard of Felicity Smoak?"

Slade snorted. "The assistant?" He shook his head. "She's nothing but Queen's computer help." Isabel had told him about her. She'd described Ms. Smoak as a smart woman who was too taken by Queen's charm to see him for the spoiled brat he was. Ridding the world of Queen might actually be a blessing to her…provided Isabel didn't decide to kill her first.

"You've been misinformed." The man still had that same mad smile. "She's much more than a simple assistant. She means something, to both Queen and my dear brother." Slade looked at him with interest.

"Who are you?" He asked, again, this time genuinely curious.

"My name is Loki Laufreyson." The man replied. "Perhaps you've heard of me."

Slade looked in the rearview mirror. Shado was smiling at the man.

"He can help us." She said. Slade nodded.

"You have a deal." He said. If the kid had a chance before, he definitely didn't have one now. Not when Slade had a god on his side.


	10. Chapter 10

Oliver came down the stairs followed by Roy who was supporting an unconscious Digg.

"Super strength is pretty cool, but I'd rather not be using it like this." Roy grumbled as he put Digg down on the table.

"Is he okay?" Felicity rushed over and checked Digg's pulse and gingerly looked at the welt on the back of his head. He'd been struck with a blunt object.

"He's just un…"Oliver had caught sight of Thor. "Conscious. What the hell is he doing down here?"

Thor crossed his arms and said nothing.

"Digg and Felicity said they would explain." Roy said. "But right now, I'm more interested in what happened tonight than her secret boyfriend."

"He's not my boyfriend." Felicity muttered. "Where's Sara?"

"She went to check on Laurel." Oliver was glaring at Thor. "Explanation, Felicity. Now." He growled.

"I don't believe I like your tone, Arrow." Thor said, stepping forward.

"Then do something about it." Oliver said. "I've got a whole bunch of anger issues and I will have no problems taking them out on you." He moved towards Thor, Felicity threw herself between them.

"Back off." She said. "I'll explain what he's doing here, but who was that tonight?"

Oliver shook his head. "You bring a stranger into our lair and tell him my secret and you expect me to talk first."

"Digg is lying there unconscious and- "

"Not that unconscious." Digg groaned, sitting up and putting a hand to his head. "The two of you arguing could wake the dead." Felicity rushed to his side to steady him.

"You should not strain yourself, Digg." Thor said, moving next to her and looking at Digg in concern.

"Probably not." Digg blinked a few times trying to get his eyes into focus. "But I like to live dangerously." He looked over at Oliver. "Thor here is an alien who crash landed outside of Starling on Friday. Felicity's been keeping him hidden because SHIELD's looking for him."

Oliver and Roy gaped at Thor then back at Felicity.

"What?" Oliver growled as Roy said. "He doesn't look like an alien."

"You're the one Waller's after?" Oliver frowned at Thor. "And you've been hiding him?" He hissed at Felicity. "Are you crazy?" His hands balled into fists. "Do you have any idea the danger you put yourself in?"

"How do you know Waller?" Digg asked. Oliver didn't respond. "Oliver, what do you know about ARGUS?"

"Enough to know that Amanda Waller is not someone you want on your bad side." He glared at Thor. "What the hell are you even doing on our planet?"

"So we've just accepted the whole alien thing." Roy said. "We're not going to ask for proof, we're jumping right to…" he trailed off as Oliver glared at him. Clearing his throat, he backed up.

"I was banished from my home." Thor said softly, "my father sent me here as punishment."

"Ban…you've been harboring a criminal?" Oliver hissed at Felicity.

"I-" Thor said, but Felicity cut him off.

"You don't have to explain yourself to him." She said, turning back to Oliver she glared. "Digg and I both trust him; that should be enough." She crossed her arms. "We've trusted you with less to go on."

Oliver winced, and stepped back. Felicity felt a small surge of satisfaction. "Now who's Slade and why does he want to kill you?"

"Because of me." Sara said, walking into the lair. "Slade hates Oliver because he blames him for the death of the woman he loved."

"Wait, he was on the island?" Digg asked. "Who else was there?"

Oliver's jaw ticked, Sara put her hand on his arm before responding. "After the boat went down I drifted until I was found by a freighter. It was run by a scientist named Anthony Ivo. He was obsessed with finding a substance called Mirakuru. We found it and…we injected Slade with it; he'd been badly injured and was dying we thought it would help." She bit her lip. "He…lost his mind after Shado was killed and he blames Ollie for it."

"Why?" Digg asked.

"Because Ivo gave me the choice of killing either Shado or Sara." Oliver said. "I didn't want to choose, but then he pointed the gun at Sara's head and I threw myself in front of her." He looked haunted. "Ivo took that to mean that I wanted Shado dead. When Slade found out…" He stopped.

"I thought he was dead." Sara said, clearly angry and terrified.

"I put an arrow in his eye." Oliver murmured.

"Well, he's alive." Digg muttered. "and judging from the lump on the back of my head, he's got friends."

Oliver grimaced. "I want explanations." He pointed at Thor. "Now."

Felicity looked at Thor who gave her a small nod.

"I was…driving last Friday to clear my head and ended up in the woods, and… there was a light in the sky that fell to earth. I went looking to see what had happened and I found him." Felicity said.

"Why were you driving out in the woods?" Sara asked.

"I like nature?" Felicity said, uncomfortably. Sara gave her a small smile.

"And you?" Oliver said to Thor. "Why were you banished?"

"Oliver." Felicity said.

"You have no idea the type of danger him being associated with you puts you in." Oliver shouted at her. "Waller's hunting him, SHIELD wants him and if they find out you're connected they will tear you apart." He'd moved closer, his face was a mask of cold fury; he was slipping into his Arrow persona. Felicity instinctively took a step back, bumping into Thor's chest. Thor put his hand on her shoulder.

"He needs our help, Oliver." She said.

"He doesn't need help from you." He growled. "Especially if he was kicked out of Mars or wherever. You're putting yourself in danger for a criminal."

"It wouldn't be the first time." She hissed. Digg questioning Thor's banishment had been one thing. He'd been suspicious, but he'd waited to reserve judgment until Thor had explained himself. Oliver had immediately jumped to the conclusion that Thor was a bad person and unworthy of his trust. Oliver's eyes widened at her words, and a vein in his neck jumped.

"I have a question." Roy said, putting up his hand. "What planet names people after Norse gods?" Oliver glared at him, causing him cough uncomfortably and put down his hand.

"I am Thor Odinsson of Asgard." Thor said, it was strange, but as he said it, he seemed to radiate authority and power. Felicity felt selfconscious standing next to him, but his hand was on her shoulder keeping her from moving away. "I was banished to Midgard by father Odin, the Allfather, for…a difference in battle tactics." Felicity raised an amused eyebrow. Thor cleared his throat. "That may have been an oversimplification of the incident." He muttered.

"Odin?" Sara asked.

"King of the gods." Roy said. Sara looked at him in surprise.

"I read…the library has heating in the winter and air conditioning in the summer." Roy said, defensively. "Some of us didn't have a mansion or a steady family life."

"So your society is based on Norse Mythology?" Sara asked.

Thor smirked, "in the days when we visited the realm of mortals, the people of Midgard worshiped us as gods." Felicity bit back a smile at Thor's smugness. "Your Norse mythology is based on us."

"Those myths are….very old." Sara said.

Thor nodded.

"So you…" Sara's jaw dropped. "You're…."

"I am the god of thunder." Thor said. Felicity rolled her eyes.

"Don't make his head any bigger than it is; I have to live with him." She muttered. Oliver's posture was completely rigid and Thor's rumbling chuckle at her words didn't help.

"He's not staying with you." Oliver said in a dangerously soft voice.

"Where should he go?" Felicity shot back. "He doesn't have anyone. We can't just leave him to fend off SHIELD and ARGUS by himself. And since when do you get to police who I let stay on my couch?"

"So what's your plan; play house with this guy because he's convinced you he's a fallen god?" Oliver growled.

"The lady Felicity was gracious enough to allow me shelter." Thor said. "I was unaware of the danger I was putting her in." He sounded ashamed. Meeting Felicity's eyes, his expression was contrite. Felicity reached up and gave the hand on her shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

"Oliver, we're all dealing with things that make no sense." Digg murmured.

Oliver, who'd been watching Thor and Felicity's silent exchange turned to frown at Digg. Then he stepped back. "I can't deal with this right now." He muttered, turning away. "Go home, we'll discuss this tomorrow."

"Oliver," Felicity moved towards him, but he turned his back on her, walking towards the large tire, intent on venting out his frustration. She closed her eyes and exhaled

"We're talking about this now." She said, shocking herself with the ferocity of her tone. Oliver froze.

"What?" he snarled, turning slowly.

"You're being targeted by a super powered mad man who wants to kill you and Thor's being hunted by 2 government organizations who probably have less than honorable motives." She crossed her arms. "This isn't something we can worry about tomorrow."

"Felicity," he turned to look at her, pain evident in his eyes, "considering that Thor or whatever he's calling himself is the second man you've spilled my secret to without my permission, you really don't want to get into this with me right now."

Felicity recoiled. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"When John was dating Carly, he never told her what he was up to. Roy's dating Thea and he hasn't told her about this, Sara hasn't told her own sister about our night job. Why is it that when Barry came to town you told him and now" he made a furious motion in Thor's direction.

"I told Barry so he could save your life." Felicity said. "I had no choice."

"In addition the lady Felicity did not tell me of your vigilante activities." Thor said. "I discovered them for myself." He stepped around Felicity putting himself in front of her, clearly furious. "She kept her connection to me a secret from you because she was worried about keeping me safe. She is honorable, trustworthy, and caring; qualities which you seem to lack. She deserves better than your verbal attacks."

Oliver crossed his arms. "Do you think you scare me? I've taken down guys like you before."

"I highly doubt you've ever encountered someone like me." Thor said, he wasn't defensive, just amused. Felicity could tell that this was going to end badly; she just wasn't sure for who.

"Enough." Sara stepped forward and pulled Oliver back before he could retort. "Being at each other's throats doesn't help us deal with Slade." She frowned over at Thor, "and while him being here complicates things, it's not like we can send him back."

"I'll have Applied Sciences build a space shuttle right now." Oliver said through gritted teeth.

"With what money and authority?' Felicity asked. "Queen Consolidated is almost bankrupt because no one trusts us anymore and I'm basically running your half for you. You might as well appoint me CEO."

"Besides, he's not from outer space he's from a different dimension." Digg muttered, blinking in an attempt to try to focus.

"A different dimension….Are we seriously not going to question this?" Roy said.

"Roy has a point." Oliver said. "What if he's here on some form of alien scouting mission and he wants to impregnate you with his offspring?"

"That's…so gross." Felicity shuddered. "And if that was his evil plan he's had plenty of opportunity to go through with it and hasn't."

Oliver's nostrils flared.

"So how did you get here?" Roy asked, ignoring Oliver's seething irritation.

"A device called the BiFrost." Thor said, smiling indulgently at Roy. "It allows one to travel from one realm to another."

"So anyone could potentially just show up here and do whatever they wanted." Sara said.

Thor seemed to contemplate her question. "In essence….yes. However," He added as he saw her fingers twitch slightly. "My father has banned us from entering the realm of mortals."

"He seems to have no trouble sending you here." Oliver grumbled. "Don't they have prisons on…?"

"Asgard." Thor said slowly. Felicity bit back a grin. Thor appeared to be completely at ease. In fact the only time he'd shown any type of strong emotion was when he'd been defending her. His smugness was strangely adorable. He turned to look at her, giving her a small smile. She flushed. Oliver watched their exchange grinding his teeth. "As for proof as to my having traveled here." He addressed Roy. "There is a crash site in the middle of the forest, however I believe SHIELD has secured it…and the second site where Mjolnir fell." He added in an undertone, looking sad.

"Mjol…the hammer?" Roy's eyes widened. Thor nodded. "That's awesome! Why didn't you come with it?"

Thor tensed slightly.

"Maybe we should pick this up in the morning." Felicity suggested, remembering how heartbroken Thor had been when he tried to summon the hammer.

"It is alright lady Felicity." He said softly. He looked back at Roy. "When my father banished me he took from me my power and my ability to wield Mjolnir." He closed his eyes. "I can no longer call the hammer to my side."

Roy looked away, embarrassed. "Sorry, man."

Thor gave him a tight smile. Digg cleared his throat. "Not to interrupt this…" He made a sweeping motion. "But I really need to get home and sleep this off."

"Isn't that what you're not supposed to do after a head trauma?" Felicity asked.

"It's not a concussion." He said. "It just…" He touched the back of his head. "I'm going to need an ice pack and a beer."

"Well you are definitely not driving." Felicity said, going over to him and stealing his keys from his jacket pocket. Digg grabbed her hand before she could back away. "Digg, don't be stupid."

"I'm not letting you drive with that shoulder." He said.

"It's just my shoulder and it only itches." Felicity said, trying to pull her hand out of his. "Let go, you Neanderthal." Digg only gave her a bemused look as she struggled against his grip. Felicity looked over at Thor. "Aren't you going to step in and defend the lady in need?"

Thor shook his head. "No, I actually find this entertaining. It reminds me of squabbles with my brother."

"So chivalry is dead on Asgard too." Felicity muttered. "Roy?"

"On it." Roy smiled. Digg dropped her hand immediately.

"She's still not driving." He said.

"Agreed." Roy said, taking the keys from Felicity. "I can drop these two off at Felicity's" He motioned to her and Thor. "And I can make sure you don't die from that head wound."

Digg huffed. "I'm not a child." Felicity grinned.

"Oh how the tables have turned." She remarked, Digg raised an eyebrow before getting up.

"Guess who just earned themselves an extra hour of self-defense classes." He deadpanned.

"Oh I would love that but unfortunately." Felicity motioned to her shoulder. "I'm grievously injured."

"It is true." Thor added, moving next to her. "It is so severe that she is unable to operate a car."

Felicity smiled at him, then yawned. She hadn't realized how tired she was. "We should go home." She said sleepily. A shadow crossed Thor's expression and she mentally kicked herself for her slip; this wasn't Thor's home. He quickly gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

"I will follow you, lady Felicity." He said in an undertone. She smiled, Digg rolled his eyes and followed Roy out of the lair.

"I'm warning you, Harper; super strength and healing won't save you if you scratch my paint job."

Roy snorted.


	11. Chapter 11

To say that things were awkward at the office the next day would be an understatement. Felicity arrived on time and of course, Oliver wasn't there. He got in 5 minutes before a meeting he had scheduled with Isabel and went straight into the office without saying anything to her or even looking at her. Digg came in after him mouthing "sorry".

"How's the head?" She smiled.

"Fine." He said. "But Roy ate all my cookies." He pulled a face.

"Cookies?" Felicity grinned. "Are you saying you, Johnathan Diggle, have actual trans-fat in your kitchen?" She covered her mouth, mimicking shock.

"Not anymore," Digg grumbled. "He ate all my damn Oreos." Felicity giggled. "How's the shoulder?" He asked.

"It's good." She said.

"And the secret boyfriend?"

Felicity snorted. "So secret I didn't even know he was my boyfriend. Which really is the kinda thing I would like to know about, because secret me is one lucky woman." She flushed as Digg laughed. "Thor's doing good." She mumbled. Turning to look at her computer screen, she caught sight of Oliver who was watching her, a slight frown on his face. She waved at him, but he turned and looked down at some papers on his desk. She sighed. "He's mad isn't he?"

Digg nodded, glancing over his shoulder at the hallway. "And he's about to get madder." Isabel came into the office.

"This isn't social hour," she glared at them. "This is a workplace. Save the gossip for when you leave."

"It is lovely to see you too, Ms. Rochev." Digg said. Isabel sniffed disdainfully and walked into the office. Felicity covered her mouth to smother her giggles.

"You are going to get in so much trouble." She said.

"She's not my boss." Digg said, sitting down and pulling out his phone. Felicity turned back to her screen, looking through Oliver's emails and sorting which ones he'd have to address when he came out of the meeting. 30 minutes later, the phone rang. Felicity grimaced and picked it up.

"Oliver Queen's office, Felicity speaking." She threw a stack of post-its at Digg when he smirked at her fake happy tone.

"Ms. Smoak? This is the front desk…there's a man here who says he wants to see you? He said his name is….Thor…" the security guard sounded like he was trying to fight back a laugh. Felicity bit her lip. "Yes, I…" She glanced over at Isabel and Oliver who were arguing. It probably wouldn't be a good idea to leave her desk, but on the other hand bringing Thor up to the office…She bit her lip and came to a decision. "Send him up." she said. Grabbing a stack of files from her desk, she made her way to the elevators. Thor stepped off a few minutes later.

"Lady –" He started, but Felicity quickly shushed him, pointing to the office where Isabel and Oliver were still arguing. Thor raised an eyebrow. Felicity tugged him over to the conference room.

"How did you get here?" She asked as she shut the door. "Not that I'm not happy to see you, it's been a pretty…cold day."

Thor glanced towards Oliver's office. "He is angry with you." It wasn't a question.

"I'm on definitely on the list." Felicity sighed, sitting in one of the chairs. "After Isabel, his mother, Slade, and the world." Thor sat in the chair next to her.

"I suspected he would be angry with you." He said, leaning forward. "Has he in anyway disrespected you?"

Felicity laughed, but stopped when she took in the earnest expression on Thor's face. "Oh, um…not really? He's just been ignoring me." She looked down at her fingers. "He actually got here less than an hour ago and then Isabel showed up so…" She motioned towards the office. "They've been at it ever since." She shook her head. "So, how did you get here?"

"I used the google and I followed the directions it gave me." Thor explained, looking pleased with himself.

"You walked?" Felicity couldn't help but grin at Thor's obvious pride. He nodded. Felicity's phone buzzed with a text from Digg. She frowned.

Digg: Queen of mean alert.

A 2nd text came a second later.

Digg: Isabel's coming too.

Felicity grabbed the stack of files and put them on the table in front of her, just as Oliver and Isabel walked into the conference room.

"Felicity I need you to go to Human Resources with Isabel and have them give you the newest personnel files."

"I actually have them here." Felicity pointed to her stack of papers. "I knew you'd want to personally look over potential hires, so I had them copied and sent up this morning. I was just about to sort –"

"What's your friend doing here?" Isabel cut her off. Thor raised an eyebrow and turned to look at her, an assessing look in his eyes.

"We were planning on getting lunch. Because it's almost lunch time and I was planning on getting it. With Thor, who is my friend." Felicity bit her lip as Oliver frowned at Thor. Isabel seemed to pick up on the tension between the two men because she gave Felicity a smile that was pure poison.

"Is there trouble in paradise?" She said, sarcastically. Turning to Thor she put on a look of mock concern. "I wouldn't get too attached to this one." She pointed at Felicity. "She's obviously using you to make Oliver jealous."

Thor stood and glared at Isabel. "What are you insinuating about the lady Felicity?"

"Thor, it's okay." Felicity said, tugging on his arm. Please don't let him attack Isabel. She silently begged. Obviously no god was listening, because the one she was trying to restrain looked down at her, rage in his eyes.

"No it is not." He said. "What allows her to insult you in this manner?"

"She's my employee." Isabel said. "Though unqualified for the job that she's occupying…the official job at least." Felicity scrambled and put herself in front of Thor, pushing him back…or at least trying to. Thor was way stronger than her and while she put her entire body weight into holding him back, it didn't appear to do anything.

"Thor, don't." She begged. He paused, looking down at her.

"She just implied that you. –"

"I know, and I've heard worse." Felicity said. "Not from her." She added nervously as Thor's expression darkened.

"Felicity." Digg walked in. "They need you down in IT."

Felicity breathed a sigh of relief. "Come on." She grabbed Thor's arm and tried to pull him towards the door of the conference room. At first he resisted, but relented when he caught sight of the look on her face.

"You claim to be her friend." He said in an undertone as he passed Oliver. "On Asgard a man who allows someone to speak in that manner to woman he considers his friend does not have her friendship for long." Felicity waited until she, Digg, and Thor were safely on the elevator to explode.

"What the HELL?" she shouted. "You can't just verbally attack my boss's business partner." Thor crossed his arms and stared at her defiantly.

"She insulted you."

"So? That doesn't mean you have to duel her to restore my honor or whatever." Felicity said in exasperation.

"Someone had to as your friend Oliver seemed unwilling." Thor retorted.

"That's not how we solve things here." Felicity said. "The second he walks through those doors he's not Oliver Queen my friend, he's Oliver Queen CEO and she's the co-owner of this company. I'm just an assistant. Even if I technically work for Oliver, she definitely could find a way to have me fired…removed from my job." She clarified when Thor looked at her in confusion.

"So that gives her the right to say such vicious things about you?" Thor asked.

Felicity bit her lip. "You're an immortal deity who also happens to be a prince. Are you seriously telling me you haven't used your title to as an excuse to mistreat someone you considered beneath you?"

Thor opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He stubbornly looked down. "She still had no right to say that about you."

"And I appreciate you getting mad at her." Felicity said. "But you can't just attack all your problems." She looked over at Digg. "What's wrong in IT?"

"Nothing." Digg said. "I just thought you might appreciate the escape route." Felicity gave him a grateful look.

"Thanks." She leaned against the elevator wall.

"I apologize." Thor said quietly.

Felicity bit her lip. "It's okay." She whispered back. "I just…she gets to me sometimes." She rubbed her arms, shivering slightly. A smile stole over her features. "Her face when you were about to bust out the thunder fists was pretty satisfying."

Thor looked up, and when he saw her smile he brightened.

"Can I ask you something?" Felicity said, hesitantly. Thor nodded. "You didn't seem so angry last night when Oliver was being an ass."

"Queen's anger towards you came from his protectiveness of you." Thor explained. "His intentions were good, even if the result…" He shrugged. "She insulted you out of pure spite."

Digg cleared his throat, "Still here, in case you forgot." Felicity blushed, giggling. Thor was grinning from ear to ear. Digg rolled his eyes. "Unbelievable." He shook his head. "If this is how lunch is going to be Smoak; you're buying."

* * *

When Felicity came back after lunch Oliver was sitting behind his desk. The second he saw her walk over, he stood and moved next to her desk. "Where's Digg and…Thor?" He seemed to have difficulty saying the other man's name.

"Digg went to drive him back to my place." Felicity said.

"I'm…sorry about Isabel." He mumbled. "You know how she is."

"Yeah." Felicity looked at her computer.

"Can…can we talk?" Oliver shifted uncomfortably. Felicity looked at him. He seemed nervous. She nodded. Oliver took a breath then said, "what was he doing here today?"

"He came to check on me." Felicity explained. "I didn't know he was coming and he's probably pretty bored sitting alone in my apartment."

"And you really trust him?"

Felicity nodded. "I don't know why but I do." She shrugged. "I trusted you in the beginning and I was right."

Oliver bit his lip and turned away from her slightly. "Sometimes I think you might be wrong about that." He murmured. "Thor was…not wrong about Isabel. I should have said something. I haven't been a particularly good friend." He looked out the window at the city, getting a faraway look in his eyes. Then he shook himself, looking back at Felicity, he said. "I'll help in any way I can but if this puts you in danger –"

"In more danger than working for the arrow, you mean?" Felicity snorted. Oliver bit his lip and it seemed like he was on the verge of smiling.

"I'm sorry that you walked in on…me and Sara." He added softly. "I…"

"Oliver, your personal life is…yours." She shrugged, ignoring the searing pain in her chest. "If she makes you happy then…it's none of my business." He nodded and was about to go back to his office when Felicity added.

"I did just replace the mats so….find a bed next time?"


	12. Chapter 12

"I know you all think you're pretty tough." Digg said pacing with his hands behind his back and his posture stiff. He looked like a stereotypical hard ass drill sergeant and Felicity couldn't hold back a giggle. Digg glared at her and she covered her mouth. Clearing her throat, she looked at the ground. Thor and Roy were standing next to her in the lair. Digg had had them change into workout clothes and line up next to the mats.

"As I was saying..." Digg said, shooting a look at Felicity as if daring her to interrupt again. "You all think you're tough and you might be because you're a warrior," He looked at Thor. "Or have super strength," he looked at Roy. "or..." He paused in front of Felicity. She looked at him expectantly. He shook his head and continued his pacing.

"Hey!" Felicity crossed her arms. "I will leak every single one of your embarrassing pictures."

Digg raised an eyebrow.

"Assuming you have any of those..." She muttered. "That threat probably carries more weight with Oliver."

"No." Roy snorted. "All his embarrassing pictures are already public domain."

Digg's drill sergeant expression cracked as he gave Felicity an indulgent smile. "Or lethal with technology." He conceded. Felicity grinned.

"Here that?" She looked over at Thor and Roy. "I'm lethal!"

"Whatever." Roy rolled his eyes, Thor gave him a look. "I mean oooh, you're so dangerous. I'm scared." Thor nodded in approval.

"What's going on?" Oliver came down the stairs with Sara behind him.

"We've been drafted." Roy explained.

Oliver looked at them in confusion, zeroing in on Felicity's exercise clothes. "What are you doing?"

"We're combining our skills." Digg explained. "With Slade out there it's important that we make sure everyone's capable of defending themselves. And yes..." He added as Oliver continued to look at Felicity with skepticism. "Everyone."

"Guess this means you're slapping water." Roy smirked at Felicity, distracting her from her disappointment at Oliver's obvious dismissal of her defense capabilities. She stuck out her tongue at him.

"There's no time for that." Digg said. Roy looked at him in anger.

"What? So she gets to skip on what I'm sure was a hazing tactic?" He looked outraged. "You like her better."

"Yes." Digg said. Roy pouted, then frowned at Thor.

"Wait, shouldn't he be helping you teach this self defense class? I mean I assuming you've got about a 1000 years of warrior training."

Thor nodded. "This is true, but I wish to first assess Midgardian fighting techniques and see how they measure up to those of Asgard." His self assured tone made Felicity snort. She knew he was attempting to be diplomatic, but he clearly believed Asgard had better fighting styles. Oliver seemed to understand this too and he didn't find it funny. He crossed his arms and stared Thor down.

"Do you honestly think you can take any of us?" He said.

"That is what I am going to see." Thor smirked.

"Ollie." Sara said. "He's probably best friends with the god of war, so I wouldn't test him."

"There's actually more than one." Roy said. "And he's actually considered a war deity...what?" He looked around at everyone's expressions. "Is it seriously that difficult to believe that I read?"

"Who else?" Thor asked, interested. "I confess I'm not familiar with the myths Midgardians constructed around us."

"Ullr" Roy began listing deities.

Thor snorted. "The archer? He's more concerned with his face than battle." He looked over at Oliver. "I believe you would get along well."

"Frigga, Odin" Roy continued.

"My parents." Thor nodded.

"And...Tyr?"

Thor groaned. "Tyr? He's such a bore." He looked over at Felicity and explained. "He's Lady Sif's ward; a distant relative of hers whose parents died when he was young. She helped train him. He's very...righteous."

Felicity smiled. "He doesn't sound too bad."

"He was constantly following us when he was young, attempting to 'prove himself'." He grinned at the memory. "Then this one time The warriors 3 trapped him in that brothel." His grin faltered when he took in the other's expressions. "It was much funnier if you were there."

"Brothels?" Digg asked.

"They are legal and much safer than the ones on Midgard appear to be." Thor said defensively. Felicity smiled.

"He's been watching lots of Law and Order: SVU while I'm at work." She explained. "He's got a lot of opinions."

Oliver walked over to the weapons and picked up two of the wooden practice staffs. He tossed one to Thor who caught it without flinching. Felicity frowned. There was no way for this to end well.

"Ollie." Sara warned. He ignored her.

Thor balanced the staff in his hands, testing the weight. "I do not believe I have held one of these since the early days of my battle training." He shrugged. "I may be a bit rusty after all..." He smirked. "It has been a few centuries."

Felicity bit her lip. "Guys, this is a bad idea."

"Stay out of this." Oliver growled. Felicity walked over to him and grabbed his arm, pulling him aside.

"Are you insane?" She whispered. "He's been training since before your great grandfather's great grandfather was born."

"That is if he's telling the truth." Oliver said, pulling off his shirt.

"You still think he's lying?" She hissed. "Oliver-"

He pushed passed her and went to stand on the mats, stretching and getting into fighting stance. Thor watched him, amused. Felicity looked over at him.

"Don't you dare." She said. He walked up to her, pulling his shirt off and handing it to her.

"I do not wish to sully it." He explained.

"Thor, just because he's being stubborn..." She said. He gave her another smile.

"He challenged me." He said simply. "And the son of Odin does not back down from a challenge." He turned and walked over to stand opposite Oliver on the mats. "Do you fear for my safety? That is quite kind of you, my lady. There is no need for concern; He cannot harm me and I will not hurt him."

Felicity rolled her eyes at their ridiculous display of testosterone. "Yeah, because not backing down from a challenge to your honor worked out so well for you the last time." She murmured. Thor didn't hear her, but Roy did. He came to stand next to her.

"I don't know who I'm more afraid for." He said as he took in the Oliver's barely concealed anger and Thor's smug amusement.

"Let them have it out." Digg said. "If it gets to intense we'll send Roy in." He sighed at Oliver's angry posture. "Oliver's wound too tight and needs to get this out and I get the feeling that Thor's been itching to take a swing at him since before they met. And who knows; maybe it'll knock him down a few pegs."

"He's a god, Digg." Felicity squeaked.

"True, but that doesn't necessarily mean he's guaranteed to win." Digg said.

"Plus it makes for a hell of a nice view." Sara sat on the desk, leering at both Oliver and Thor. Felicity shot her a look of irritation. "What? They're not going to listen to us because male ego, so we might as well enjoy the show."

They circled each other, their staffs raised. Oliver struck first. There was loud cracking noise as Thor blocked his strike. Felicity winced. "Tell me when it's over." She groaned, burying her face in her hands, realizing too late that she was still holding Thor's shirt. Clearing her throat, embarrassed she looked around. Sara and Digg were too busy focusing on the sparring match, but Roy was looking at her with...pity? There was another cracking sound. Then Thor let out a loud laugh.

"This is quite an amusing little joust."

"Little?" Oliver ground his teeth.

"Uh oh." Sara said.

"Digg." Felicity said. "This might be a code Roy."

Digg shook his head. "Not yet."

* * *

Thor blocked another one of the Arrow's blows. He'd been deliberately holding himself back in order to test the other man's strength. In addition, he knew Felicity would be upset if he harmed him. So he'd decided not to pummel him...too much.

He had to admit that he was initially surprised by the amount of force the Midgardian man was using. His blows were coming faster now that he seemed more confident. There was power and rage in each strike. Rage which Thor knew was linked to the other man's feelings for Felicity. She was still sitting on the sidelines...and she was clearly angry at them and worried. He frowned; why should she be angry? Settling disagreements through physical competition was standard on Asgard.

The next time the staffs connected, Oliver's splintered and broke. Thor stepped back and threw his own staff to the side.

"Surrendering already?" Oliver taunted.

"By no means." Thor grinned. "I would not want it said that I had an unfair advantage, seeing as my staff is currently bigger than yours." He smirked. "Well, unfair advantages apart from my immortality."

Oliver grunted. "Sure you don't want a crutch? From what I hear you're powerless without that hammer of yours."

Anger boiled Thor's blood. "You dare insult the son of Odin?" He said.

"Digg." He heard Felicity say from the side.

"You may have been a big deal where came from." Oliver continued. "But here? None of that matters. Though, considering you got banished-"

Thor swung, forgoing any previous self control. The blow caught Oliver on the shoulder sending him flying backwards. He hit the mat. Thor moved to stand over him.

"I warn you, I was holding back." He growled. Oliver kicked out, hitting Thor in the knee. The blow made Thor pause and gave Oliver enough time to get back on his feet. Thor struck out again, but this time, Oliver anticipated his move. Grabbing Thor's arm, he tried to use the momentum from the blow to pull Thor off balance. Thor put Oliver in a headlock. The two struggled against each other. The fight had lost all semblance of civility. They stumbled; Oliver hitting the mats first, dragging Thor down with him. Oliver bit Thor's arm and when he pulled back aimed a punch for his groin. Thor hissed in pain and twisted Oliver's wrist behind his back, forcing him facedown onto the mats. Suddenly they were pulled apart.

"That's enough." Roy was standing between them. Oliver glared at his protege.

"Get out of the way Roy." He growled, cracking his neck and getting back into a defensive pose.

"No." Roy said. "You're always telling me to control my emotions and not let them overwhelm my judgment." He seemed slightly afraid. "How are you supposed to teach me control if you can't even control yourself?"

Oliver flinched slightly and toll a slight step back. Felicity had explained Roy's enhancement and the toll it had taken on him. Thor understood the young man's fear. At the same time, he did have a sense of satisfaction at Oliver's clear shame...until Roy rounded on him.

"And you." Roy said. He turned to look at Felicity and seemed to weigh what he was about to say. Then he glared back Thor. "You're a god; you should know better. But I guess if that were true, you wouldn't have gotten yourself banished."

"Roy." Felicity said.

"Don't defend him.' Roy shouted. "He doesn't deserve it. Not from you. And don't pretend that you aren't pissed at him." He looked like he was going to say more, but closing his eyes, he took a slow breath. Then he turned to the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Oliver asked.

"The club. My shift starts in about 30 minutes." Roygrowled, "unlike some people, I actually have to work for a living." He threw them all a look of disgust. "Plus this isn't doing good things for my anger management."

Oliver threw Thor another glare before going towards the contraption Felicity called the salmon ladder. Frowning at the broken pieces of Oliver's staff, Thor considered Roy's words. It was true that he'd entered the competition because of his pride and that he'd taken a certain joy in the idea of teaching the other man a lesson. Though his power had been taken from him, he was still Asgardian, which meant he was physically much stronger. If Roy hadn't pulled them apart, it was possible he could have done terrible damage to Oliver. His actions had probably cost him the trust of the only people he had on Midgard.

"Hey." Felicity's voice was accompanied by a tentative hand on the back of his shoulder.

"Are you angered with me?" He asked, turning to look at her..

"Yes." She admitted quietly. "I...guess I was too intimidated by you to try harder to stop you."

"I appreciate your honestly, my lady." He murmured.

"Though," She said, "you would probably still have ignored me because you're probably the most stubborn person anyone has ever met."

Thor gave her a grim smile. "I am unaccustomed to people speaking so bluntly with me."

"Well, they're probably afraid of being beheaded." Felicity said., making a slicing motion across her neck.

"We did away with beheading..." Thor began defensively, but trailed off when Felicity gave him an amused grin. "You are making a jest."

"I'm a pretty funny person." Felicity said.

"Indeed." Thor said, feeling a sense of relief that his actions hadn't cost him Felicity's friendship. Felicity gave him a tentative smile, then her eyes traveled downwards looking at his naked torso. He cleared his throat

"Might I have my shirt back?" He asked, coyly. Felicity blushed a bright shade of red and held out his shirt, letting out a small gasp when his fingers brushed hers. She turned and went back to the computers to monitor her screens, keeping her eyes riveted to the screens not looking anywhere else.

* * *

Felicity and Thor were leaving the lair when they ran into Roy carrying some boxes in the club's back alley.

"You okay?" She asked.

Roy slammed the box on top of a stack next to the door. Felicity winced, hoping it didn't have anything breakable.

I'd rather talk to you alone." He said, giving Thor a pointed look.

"I do not believe it wise to leave you alone with him while he is in this state, my lady." Thor said. Roy glared at him.

"I'm not mad at you." He growled.

Felicity frowned, but handed Thor her keys. "Wait for me, DON'T drive."

Thor frowned.

"Trust me?" Felicity asked. He gave Roy one more look, but nodded and left.

"What's up." She asked when Thor had left the alley.

"What exactly is your relationship with Thor?" Roy asked.

"I'm...not sure how that's really any of your business.' Felicity said slowly.

"I did some reading last night and..." Roy looked pained. "I wouldn't tell you, but it seems like the two of you are getting close and I don't want you to get hurt because you're the only one who doesn't treat me like a ticking bomb."

"Roy, what are you talking about?" she asked, suddenly nervous.

"Thor's...every book or internet search I did said that he's married. To a goddess named Sif."

Felicity's heart squeezed. "Married?"

"I'm sorry." Roy said. "I just saw how you were looking at him and I...I thought you should know before things got too serious and you got your feelings hurt."

"Bit too late for that now." Felicity murmured. Of course he was married. He was a prince and a couple millennia older than her. He'd probably been married for a few centuries in order to create an heir to the throne. She shuddered in disgust. She'd lead with her heart again and she should have realized...that it was naïve to think he could care about her as more than a friend. She didn't even know when she'd started to think about him in that way.

"Felicity?" Roy looked at her in concern.

"I'm ok." she said, trying to convince herself as much as she was trying to convince Roy. Walking away from him she made her way over to her car, Thor was sitting in the passenger side. He seemed nervous until he caught sight of her unhurt and relaxed.

She opened the driver door and sat.

Thor frowned. "Is something wrong?" He looked genuinely concerned. She turned the key in the ignition and focused on the road.

"I'm fine." She said. "But I'm going to need to stop to pick up some mint chip before we get home." She glanced over at him and saw that he was still looking at her. "A lot of it. This looks like a 2 pint problem."

 **A/Note:** Sorry about the length between updates, my computer's broken so I had to dig up one of my older laptops and it's...hard to work with. Hope you guy's enjoyed this chapter. I'm hoping to have my other computer fixed soon which will make updates easier.


	13. Chapter 13

The myths referenced in this chapter are in the links below:

/folklore/2014/01/thors_

wiki/Sva%C3%B0ilfari

* * *

"As if you care." Felicity mumbled, opening it and shoving a large spoonful into her mouth. Thor looked at her in confusion. Had he heard her correctly? She'd been distant and had avoided looking at him ever since her conversation with Roy. Whatever he'd said to her had upset her, but for the life of him, he wasn't sure what he'd done wrong. She'd gotten even more upset when she'd returned home and did some research on one of her devices.

"My lady." He began.

"I'm not your lady." Felicity snapped. She paused and seemed taken aback by her outburst. Standing she went towards the door of her room, probably intent on hiding herself there. Thor had had enough.

"What have I done to offend you?" Thor asked. She froze.

"I'm…really tired right now so…"

Thor moved to stand in front of her. She turned her face towards the ground. "My la…Felicity, look at me." He said. "You're not tired, and you do not," he grabbed the carton of ice cream, "need more of this."

Felicity glared at him and made a grab for her ice cream, but he held it out of her reach.

"Do you steal your wife's ice cream too?" She asked.

"My…wife?" If he had been confused before, it was nothing compared to how he felt now.

"I'll be okay." Felicity said. "I just…I need to process." She stepped around him and opened the door to her bedroom; shutting it behind her. Thor heard her trip over something and let out a small gasping sob. He tried the door, but it was locked. Moving back, he went over to her computer. Why would she believe he was married? He'd resisted marriage ever since he'd come of age. There were plenty of available women on Asgard, a detail which he'd exploited for personal pleasure over the years, yet he'd never taken a wife. He frowned at her computer; maybe it could give him some answers. It was open to something called Wikipedia and was full of information about Sif…including the assertion that she was his wife. He let out a laugh at the ridiculousness of the situation. No doubt Roy had read this and told her in order to warn her away from him.

He walked back to her bedroom door. "Felicity." He said, knocking on the door. "Sif is not my wife. In fact, I'm sure she would find the idea quite repulsive."

She didn't respond. Thor sighed and continued. "The mortals who we lived among must have interpreted our comradery as romantic and made up these stories about us, but they are false." He paused. "In fact, I believe they were made uncomfortable by such a powerful female warrior and decided to degrade her by reducing her role to my wife."

"All legends hold some grain of truth." Felicity mumbled from the other side of the door.

"True, Sif was, at one point, married to a man named Haldor…until she lost him in tragic circumstances. She has never remarried. The bond I share with her is one of friendship similar to the one you share with Digg."

Felicity opened the door. "I feel…really stupid."

Thor smiled down at her. "Those myths may be based on me and other Asgardians, but that doesn't make them true…especially if Ullr is considered a war god." He snorted, recalling the vain archer. "In fact, I would wager that most of them are false." He put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Next time you have a question; just ask."

"Sorry." Felicity looked ashamed. Her face was red…Thor was taken aback by how beautiful she was when her face was flushed. Though, he admitted to himself, she was beautiful all of the time. If anyone had told him before his banishment that he'd meet a Midgardian woman who could outshine most of the women of the court, he'd have thought them mad.

"One might wonder," he said, teasingly, "why you had such an extreme reaction to the thought of me being married."

Her head snapped up, her eyes wide. For a second, Thor was worried that she would rush back into her room. "One might wonder that…" She said slowly. "Or one could share the ice cream he's holding hostage and go through which of these myths are true and which aren't so I won't completely embarrass myself again." She took the ice cream back and went over to the couch with her computer. "Grab a spoon, your highness. I've got some learning to do."

He shook his head in amusement and went over to the drawer to get a spoon. By the time he'd sat next to her, she was reading through another page. "Please tell me this one's made up." She said, pointing to the screen. Thor leaned forward, then burst into laughter as he recognized the story in question.

"No," he grinned. "That tale is quite true, my lady."

"What?" Felicity looked at him in horror as he laughed. "This isn't funny, it's horrifying."

"It is amusing."

"Not if you're Loki. I thought you said he was your brother." Felicity frowned.

"He is." Thor said, defensively.

"And he seriously…with a horse and..." She shuddered as Thor nodded. "He…gave birth?" She paled and put down the carton of ice cream. Thor took the opportunity to take a spoonful, it was quite delicious.

"It is true." He said, reaching for another spoonful. "He had to remain in the form of a mare until the baby came to term."

"How can you be so calm about this?" Felicity asked. "It says here that the baby had…"She paused and squinted at the screen. "8 legs… I can't even imagine giving birth to one 2 legged child let alone an 8 legged horse." She frowned as she looked at the bottom of the screen. "This right here." She pointed. Thor read and bit his lip.

"It is true." He said, feeling ashamed, though he did not know why.

"Let me get this straight. Odin uses his own grandson…AS A FORM OF TRANSPORTATION?" She growled.

"He's…not… he's a horse." Thor said, sheepishly.

"So what? He's still your nephew. Just because he doesn't have opposable thumbs doesn't mean that you should treat him like…." She huffed. "Your father is lucky he's in another dimension otherwise I would give him a piece of my mind."

Thor looked up at the ceiling. "Heimdall has probably seen this entire conversation and informed him already…that is if he is concerned about my wellbeing at all." He added as an afterthought, there was no guarantee that his father was asking for news of him. Felicity put her hand on his arm.

"If I were you, I wouldn't try so hard to get approval from the man who allowed his own son to be raped by a horse then used the offspring to travel through battlefields." She turned to the screen. "Now who's Heimdall?"

"The guardian of our realm." Thor explained. "He controls the Bifrost."

"It says here that he's Sif's brother." Felicity asked. "And that he's able to see things that happen in other realms."

"This is true." Thor nodded.

"Everything?" Felicity gulped.

"Not everything." Thor reassured her. "He is an honorable man and holds his position as guardian in too high of a regard to abuse it."

Felicity nodded and began reading another story. The more she read, the more an evil smirk grew on her face. Thor shifted uncomfortably. "How about…this one." She said, feigning innocence. Thor frowned and took the computer to get a better look. "It's about frost giants…and a wedding." Thor paled, how had the Midgardians heard this story when all those involved had been sworn to secrecy? Then realization hit him…Loki. It had to have been his brother's idea of a joke.

Felicity was laughing and clapping with delight. "It's true!" She grinned.

"I said no such thing." Thor protested.

"Hey, no judgments here, pal." Felicity held up her hands. "I want all the details." She looked at him eagerly.

Thor crossed his arms. "My brother is a marked man." He grumbled.

"On a scale of 1 to horrifying 8 legged horse pregnancy, I'd say this rates pretty low." Felicity grinned. Thor had to concede that she had a point.

"That is probably true." He murmured.

"Soooooo." Felicity poked him. "Was it just a dress or did you have heels to match."

"I believe you have work on the morrow and after the thrashing I gave your employer I would not wish to anger him further by making you late."

"Trying to change the subject." Felicity shook her head. "That's not particularly godlike."

"Ah, but you see, it was your people who called me a god." Thor grinned. "I assure you that I am quite capable of scandalous behavior."

Felicity arched an eyebrow. "Like putting on a drag show to retrieve a stolen hammer?" She suggested. Thor groaned, she would never let the story go until she had his version of it.

"I believe we have had enough story time for one night." He said, standing and putting the ice cream away in the freezer.

"Boo." Felicity pouted.

"You will be late for work."

"And you," Felicity stood and walked over to him. "Are trying to weasel your way out of telling this story." She placed her hands on her hips and threw him a challenging look. Thor chuckled, she was too adorable.

"The son of Odin does not 'weasel' out of anything." He said indignantly. Felicity's expression was devious, he liked seeing this playful side of her, even if it was at his expense.

"Oh, of course." She said, adopting a high pitched tone, practically dripping with sarcasm. "I forgot I was speaking to the son of Odin. Please oh mighty thunderer, forgive me." She pretended to swoon. Thor caught her, unable to fight his smile. She was overcome by giggles. Scooping her up, Thor began carrying her towards her room.

"What are you doing?" She squeaked.

"Putting you to bed." He said, opening the door and putting down on her bed.

"Not tired." Felicity crossed her arms and stuck out her chin.

"I promise you I will tell you the truth of the tale…tomorrow, after you have slept."

She opened her mouth to protest, but only a yawn came out. Thor knew he had won.

"Good night," He said, hesitating before adding. "My lady."

She smiled sleepily. "God night Thor." She mumbled, her eyes closing. He stepped out of the room and closed the door. He was gratified that the misunderstanding hadn't cost him Felicity's friendship. It was strange to think about how this small Midgardian woman had so quickly become the most important person in his life. He fell asleep thinking about the sound of her laughter and the way it had felt when he'd briefly held her laughing in his arms.

* * *

"What is this?" Slade asked, circling the large metal robot the trickster had conjured in from Asgard.

"When the time comes." Loki drawled. "This will lead your army."

"When the time comes?" Slade growled and turned to fix the demi god with a glare, pulling one of his swords out of its scabbard. "Do you expect me to carry out my revenge on your schedule?"

"Well…yes." Loki said flippantly. Slade roared and stabbed the trickster, but the sword slid through him as though he weren't there. Loki sighed and rolled his eyes. The robot came to life and reach out, gripping Slade by the throat. "Need I remind you," Loki said. "That I only kept you alive because it suited my purpose."

Slade grabbed the metal fingers of the robot, trying to pry them off his throat, but they wouldn't budge. Even his Mirakuru enhanced strength was no match for the robot. It dropped him and he crumpled to the ground, gasping for breath. Loki moved to stand above him.

"This is your only warning. Raise a weapon against me again and next time, I won't call off the destroyer." He began to disappear. "Stick to my plan, and remember. I'm always watching."

Slade was left alone with a giant robot and the echoes of Loki's laughter.


	14. Chapter 14

"Do we seriously have no intel?" Oliver asked, straightening his tie and glaring at his reflection in the mirror. Moira was holding a campaign event at Verdant and Oliver had agreed to go to keep up appearances with Thea. The entire team was in the lair getting ready.

Felicity shook her head. "All quiet on the Wilson front."

Oliver exhaled slowly. Slade had been remarkably silent; there had been no sign of him since he'd visited Moira at the Queen mansion.

"Why would he'd tell us he's here, then disappear?" Roy growled. "It's been 3 weeks." He was going to the event as Thea's plus one. Oliver was taking Sara as his plus one and Digg was going in his capacity as his body guard. Felicity had been invited because of her position as his EA, though neither she nor Moira wanted her to go. Then there was Thor.

"I feel….constricted." Thor complained as he came to stand next to Felicity's computers. Everyone turned to look at him. He was wearing a dark blue suit with a white button down shirt. His hair had been pulled back. Felicity's mouth went dry as she looked him up and down. He arched an eyebrow and smiled as she flushed.

"Constricted is right." Sara smirked, blatantly ogling him. Oliver cleared his throat. "What? I'm allowed to appreciate the view."

"I..um…I thought you said it fit when you tried it on." Felicity managed to say, her voice slightly strangled. Thor sighed.

"It does, however I am worried that I might damage it if a fight were to break out." He looked down at the tie in his hand. "I also confess to not knowing how to tie this." Felicity took it and stood up, moving closer to him.

"There's no guarantee that Slade's going to be there tonight." She murmured as she put the tie around his neck. "Being around Oliver has made you paranoid." Thor put his hand on hers, pressing it against his shoulder.

"I worry for your safety, my lady." He murmured.

Felicity bit her lip and looked away. "More like you worry for your main food source. Because if something happens to me, well." She mumbled.

Thor shook his head. "Though that would be tragic, I believe I would miss your company more."

Felicity felt heat rising in her cheeks. Then she frowned at his tie and came to a decision. Putting it aside, she unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt. Thor's eyes widened and his lips parted slightly. Felicity stepped back to admire the affect. "I think this works better." She said, tugging at Thor's suit jacket to straighten it. Thor beamed at her.

"You look lovely as well, my lady." He said, taking in her dress.

"Really?" Felicity asked. "You're not going to ask me where the rest of the dress is?" She smirked as Thor took a defensive step backward.

"No, I learned my lesson the first time." He said. Felicity grinned. Thor had made the mistake of implying that her dress was indecent because he could see her ankles and because of the cut out back. She'd given him a long, loud lecture on 21st century women's fashion and he'd been very apologetic ever since.

"The two of you can go up first." Oliver said, loudly. Felicity started; she'd been so wrapped up in her conversation with Thor that she'd forgotten there were others there. Judging by the look Thor threw Oliver, he was thinking the same thing. "Try to keep him from attacking people." Oliver had turned back to the mirror.

"I only attack those who deserve it." Thor retorted.

"No.' Felicity said, putting her hands on Thor's chest and pushing him towards the door. "The two of you can throw down after the party." She frowned. "You are not ripping that suit."

Thor smiled down at her and allowed himself to be led towards the lair exit, but not before saying loudly. "I do not believe a fight with Oliver would require the amount of strain necessary to damage this garment."

Felicity groaned as she closed the door behind him. "You are incorrigible." She said shaking her head.

"Quite." Thor said, offering his arm. "May I have the honor of escorting one of the most beautiful women on Midgard to this…campaign event?"

Felicity blushed and shook her head. "You may." She slid her hand into the crook of his arm. "If…" She said, holding up a finger. "You behave."

Thor nodded. "Only because you require it of me." They walked into Verdant. Since they were on the list, they got to skip the line. Grabbing two glasses of champagne from a passing waiter, Felicity handed one to Thor and looked around at the event and they moved to stand off to the side.

"Can you explain to me the purpose of these festivities?" Thor asked, looking at the champagne with suspicion. Felicity motioned towards the crowd of potential donors and supporters.

"Oliver's mother is running for mayor. She needs money and support from all these rich people to help her win."

"And the mayor is the…ruler of this city." Thor asked.

"Sort of…I mean they don't have complete autonomy there's levels of power and authority. Plus it's a dangerous job; the last mayor was killed."

"And if Oliver's mother wins she will rule for the rest of her life?" Thor asked.

"No, only for 4 years." Felicity smiled as Thor looked at her in confusion.

"4? What could a person possibly get done in 4 years?" He said.

Felicity winced at the thought of having to explain democracy to a man who'd only known absolute monarchy for however many millennia he'd been alive. "Elections are held every 4 years to determine whether or not the mayor of the city reflects the interests of the people of the city. Just like elections are held every 4 years to see if the president accurately reflects the interests of the people of the country." Felicity said. "It's called the democratic process."

"And this system works?" Thor said skeptically.

"Yes…at least." Felicity paused. "I'm not saying it's perfect, I mean we're only human and no one's infallible, but this gives people an opportunity to have a voice in their government."

Thor snorted.

Felicity crossed her arms. "Okay, mister divine authority. What happens if you have a king or queen who doesn't have the best interest of the people at heart and abuses their position?"

"That has never happened on Asgard." Thor said smugly.

"Humor me." Felicity said. Thor frowned and considered her question.

"They would have to be over thrown." He said softly.

"Which requires a long and bloody revolution." Felicity sipped her champagne. "That's the danger of absolute monarchs. When we got rid of them, things got ugly."

"You…did away with kings?" Thor shifted nervously. Felicity patted his arm, reassuringly.

"Not all of them…though very few monarchs left on earth have actual power. And the US revolution wasn't even the most violent one" Felicity said. "Look up Russia and France." She smirked. "We didn't behead the monarchy or…assassinate all of them in their living room." She shuddered. Thor's eyes widened. "No one's going to overthrow you." She said, laughing at his terrified expression.

"I guess it is good that I no longer have a title, then." He murmured as he took a sip of the champagne. "Urgh." He coughed "this is undrinkable."

Felicity raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?" She asked. "This is the good stuff. Moira would never allow for cheap drinks at her party. Hell, I don't know if she's even seen a bottle of alcohol that was under 100 dollars." She looked around the campaign event again. None of the Queens had showed up yet, but the donors were walking around, making small talk. There was music playing and some were dancing. Felicity emptied her glass and took Thor's. He frowned.

"What, you're not going to drink it." She said. "I'm not wasting it." She sipped it slowly.

"I would advise caution, but that beverage hardly qualifies as alcohol."' He muttered.

"You're just saying that because you probably have drinks that have been sitting around for 1000s of years." Felicity muttered.

"True." Thor said.

"Sounds dangerous.' Felicity grinned.

"Oh no." Thor said.

"What?" Felicity asked innocently.

"I have come to know that expression well." He smirked. "It's the one you wear when you believe you have seen a challenge. Believe me; it is too much for you to handle."

Felicity pouted then emptied the glass. "How about a dance?" She suggested. Thor held out his hand and led her towards the dance floor. Moira had chosen to go for more classical music to appeal to the higher class voters. This meant that Thor didn't have to worry about embarrassing himself because he didn't know any modern dance styles.

"Is it customary for partners to stand so close?" Thor asked, frowning disapprovingly at a couple who were slow dancing next to them. Felicity rolled her eyes as she recognized them.

"He's the owner of a multi-billion dollar oil company, so no one's really going to tell him no and that's his latest wife."

"Latest?" Thor raised an eyebrow as he put his hand on Felicity's waist. She nodded as she put her hands on his shoulders.

"The others got too old for him."

Thor looked at the couple again with disgust. "He appears to be older than my father."

Felicity snorted. "How many centuries has he lived?" Thor smiled and leaned close to whisper.

"The better question would be how many millennia?"

She giggled. Thor smiled and glanced back at the couple. "I will say, there appear to be certain…benefits to dancing in that manner." Thor said, wagging his eyebrows.

"I don't own oil fields, Thor." Felicity flushed. "We'd get in trouble."

Thor grinned. "Ah, that was not a complete rejection of the idea."

Felicity looked away. Thor pulled her slightly closer. "Wading into dangerous waters, Thunder god." She said. He leaned down and brushed his lips against her ear.

"You aren't the only one who likes a challenge, lady Smoak."

Felicity shivered. He brushed his fingers over the open back of her dress giving her goosebumps and sending a jolt down her spine.

"I also rescind all my earlier protestations against this dress." He murmured.

"Thor." She moaned. Their dynamic had changed ever since marriage-gate. He'd definitely been more…she couldn't put her finger on it, but being around him made her stomach get all fluttery and she'd be lying if she said she didn't like the new direction that their friendship had taken. Thor was so….

Felicity sensed Moira Queen's arrival before she actually saw it. There was a chill in the air. Felicity turned slightly and saw Moira walking in with Thea, Roy, Oliver and Sara behind her. Moira had her candidate face on, but when she caught sight of Felicity there was a slight wavering in her expression. Felicity looked away and turned her attention back to Thor.

"Okay, ground rules." Felicity stopped dancing and put her hand on Thor's chest. "She's probably not going to come talk to us because we don't rate high on her importance radar, but if she does…"

"I am to ignore any and all negative slights she might make to your person." Thor said through gritted teeth. "No matter how much I'd like to defend your honor."

Felicity smiled. "Looks like that talk we had earlier wor…" She'd caught sight of someone in the crowd.

Thor looked down at her in concern, then turned in the direction she was looking. "Is something wrong, my lady?" He asked.

"I…thought I saw." She said, then her eyes widened as she caught sight of Agents Phil Coulson and Clint Barton standing on the side of the dance floor. "Shit."

"Really, my lady?" Thor admonished.

"Lecture me on my propriety later." Felicity said, looking away from the two agents. "SHIELD incoming, 12 o clock."

Sure enough, Barton and Coulson were making their way over to Felicity and Thor.

Don't panic, don't panic. Felicity told herself. "Keep calm….they won't try anything here and they don't know about you and…" Thor put his hand on her shoulder and turned her to face him.

"It will be alright" he said.

"Ms. Smoak." Coulson said. "Fancy meeting you here."

"Hi…agent Coulson." Felicity smiled shakily, putting her arm around Thor's waist and leaning against him to steady herself.

"Please…call me Phil." He held out his hand and Felicity shook it.

"It didn't know you were interested in politics, Agent Coulson." Felicity said. Coulson gave her an amused smile at her insistence on using formality.

"Actually, we're here to see you." Barton said, winking at her. Thor glared at him and murmured.

"Am I allowed to thrash him?"

Felicity shook her head.

"Plus, we're going to rig this election anyways so she can't win." Barton continued, grabbing some finger food from a passing tray.

"No we aren't." Coulson rolled his eyes. Barton choked.

"What do you mean, no?" He coughed. "We can't let her get elected."

"Barton." Coulson's tone was strained, implying his long suffering attitude towards the other agent. "We don't interfere with elections."

"Really?" Barton looked at him in shock. "So you're okay with a mass murderer being mayor?"

"Can we focus on the mission?" Coulson said as he looked at Thor. "Who's your friend?"

"This is Thor Odinsson." Felicity said, desperately trying to remember the cover story they'd made up for him. "He's an old friend of mine visiting from out of town."

"How far out of town?" Coulson's smile seemed pleasant, but Felicity wasn't fooled. He suspected. She tightened her grip on Thor.

"Felicity was my neighbor." Thor said. "When we were children. Then my father had to move because he was in the military and we became pen pals. Even though we lived far apart, we somehow found a way to come back to each other." He looked down and smiled.

"Childhood sweethearts?" Coulson asked.

"He's not my…" Felicity said as Thor said. "Yes." They looked at each other, both embarrassed by the other's answer. Felicity looked at the ground. They'd agreed to be best friends from childhood. Why had Thor gone off script?

"Urgh." Barton frowned. "I think I just developed type 2 diabetes from all this sweetness." He frowned. "You're quite tall, Mr…"

"Odinsson." Thor said.

"Uh huh." Clint said, looking up at him. "I'd say you were about 6, 3?" He and Coulson shared a look.

The other dancers on the dance floor were giving them dirty looks. Felicity cleared her throat. "Maybe we should move. People are starting to stare. It was nice talking to you." She began tugging Thor away.

"Did it hurt?" Barton asked Thor. He stopped and turned around.

"I beg your pardon?"

"When you fell." Barton said, stepping off the dance floor and standing in front of them. "See, that line doesn't usually work on the ladies…"

"No, really?" Felicity said sarcastically.

"But," Barton smiled. "I think it fits this particular situation."

"I'm not sure…" Thor began.

"Is everything alright here?" Oliver walked over with Sara. Felicity noted the way Barton tensed when he saw him approach. That was just what this situation needed; more testosterone. Sara seemed to be thinking the same thing because she plastered a fake smile on her face and tugged his arm.

"Ollie, why don't we go see what Thea's doing?" She suggested.

"Just making conversation." Coulson said, smiling. "Phil Coulson; agent of SHIELD. It's good to meet you in person….Arrow."

Oliver's smile never wavered. "I'm not sure what you're talking about." He said.

"Can we skip over the melodramatic minds games where we get you to slip up and prove what we already know and get to the part where you admit that you're the vigilante." Barton said. "You're blonde Natasha." He said, pointing to Sara. "And you" he pointed to Thor. "fell to earth only to be harbored by this little angel here." He smiled at Felicity.

"Have care how you address the lady Smoak." Thor growled.

"I'm absolutely terrified." Barton snarked.

"This…isn't the environment to have this conversation." Coulson said. "We'll have a more informed talk later. In the lair you have beneath this club." He smiled at the growing look of irritation on Oliver's face. "Good luck with the campaign donations." He turned to leave, motioning for Barton to follow him.

Barton grabbed a glass of champagne. Coulson sighed.

"What?" Barton said. "This is the good stuff. You can't afford it on a government salary."

"How?" Oliver growled.

"They're spies." Sara said.

Thor looked at Felicity. "Are you alright?" He asked. She nodded.

"I just…I need some air." She murmured. "I'll be right back." Shaking she stepped into one of the supply rooms. There was someone already there. "Sorry, I just needed a moment."

"No need to apologize miss." The man smiled and held out his hand. He was tall, thin with dark hair. His suit was dark with green and gold accents. "Allow me to introduce myself; Lawrence Laufeyson."

"Felicity Smoak." She said, reaching out her hand. Lawrence raised it to his lips and kiss her fingers. "No offense, but…it's very dangerous for me to be alone in a dark room with a man I don't know." She said.

"You are a smart woman, Ms. Smoak." He gave her a smile. There was something about this man that was unsettling. She couldn't put her finger on it.

* * *

Loki smiled as he took in the woman in front of him. She was delicious, maybe he wouldn't have her killed. He might keep her as a plaything once his brother was out of the way. Waving a hand in front of her face he froze her in place.

"Beautiful…for a mortal." He murmured as he circled her. "I apologize for this crude approach." He said, knowing she couldn't hear or see anything at the moment. "But I wanted to know what all the fuss was about." He said. "My…underling, Slade Wilson, mentioned how much your friend the arrow seems to desire you…and my brother…ah you, my dear, have managed to do in 2 months what all the maidens of Asgard and Vanaheim have been attempting to do for centuries." He chuckled, pushing her hair away from her neck and caressed it. "You've managed to make the Odinsson fall in love." he looked at her. "That makes you powerful…perhaps the only person in this game who is a worthy adversary." He came close, smelling her hair. "Aaaah. I cannot wait to see how this plays out. I hope you do not disappoint me."

He moved in front of her and unfroze her. Felicity blinked and stumbled. Loki grabbed her arms to steady her. "I'm sorry, I'm a bit spazzy." She said. "I feel so…" She looked down at Loki's hands on her. "Sorry," she backed away. "I don't usually do that, I don't know what's wrong with me tonight. Well actually I do, but it's not the type of thing I discuss with complete strangers. So I'm going to leave before I embarrass myself more." She backed away. "It was… weird meeting you Mr. Laufeyson." She turned and rushed out of the room. Loki dropped the glamor he'd used, revealing his Asgardian clothing. Clutching his staff, he smiled.

"The pleasure was all mine." He said, then he disappeared leaving the storage room empty.


	15. Chapter 15

Coulson and Barton were waiting for them in the lair after the fundraiser had finished.

"I guess we shouldn't bother asking how you got in here." Oliver growled as they came down the stairs.

"Aaawww," Barton cooed, making a pouty face. "He's learning."

"We're not here to fight." Coulson said, as Oliver inched closer to his bow case. "We just want to talk."

"Not that you could beat me at an archery contest." Barton said, walking over to a rack of arrows. "Though I will admit to being impressed by the craftsmanship of these."

Felicity, who had been holding on to Thor ever since they walked into the lair, looked nervously at Agent Coulson. The man seemed calm and aloof, but she'd been around Oliver and Sara long enough to see through his façade. He was watching Thor's every move; accessing him.

"You're not locking him up." she blurted out. Coulson raised an eyebrow. "He hasn't hurt anyone and he's not dangerous."

"No one said anything about locking him up." Coulson said. "We have a few questions."

"Then ask them." Thor said, running his hand up and down her back in an attempt to calm her. She pressed her face against his chest.

The agent looked Thor up and down before launching into his interrogation. "Who are you?"

Thor straightened up and looked Coulson straight in the eye. "I am Thor, son of Odin." He rumbled, godlike. Felicity felt strangely inadequate next to him, but his hand on her back helped ground her.

Barton snorted.

"Clint." Coulson sighed.

"What?" Barton said. "Next he'll be telling us he's Horus son of Osiris."

"My people came to your realm a long time ago." Thor explained. "We lived among you, fought alongside you, taught you some of our ways. You believed us to be gods."

Coulson nodded. "That actually makes a strange amount of sense."

"Really?" Barton shot him a sideways glance of disbelief.

"There have been theories that some early religions might have been founded around much more powerful beings who visited from other planets." Coulson shrugged.

"And usually the people who believe those theories also have an impressive collection of tin foil hats." Barton muttered.

"After everything you've seen the last couple of days, you're telling me you're still skeptical?" Coulson retorted.

"I believe he's from another planet, I just refuse to believe that he's been here before." Clint said. "That would make him…"He paused to think. "Really old." He shot Roy a glare when he let out a laugh barely disguised as a cough. "I'm bad at math."

"Asgardians have longer life spans than people on Midgard." Thor said. "In addition we are stronger, more invulnerable, and when we do get injured we heal more swiftly. Thus your ancestors believed us to be immortal."

"And why have you decided to come back after all these years?" Coulson asked. Thor bowed his head and looked at Felicity. She gave him a nervous smile that she hoped was encouraging.

"I was banished for…disagreeing with my father." He murmured.

"Is that the Viking way of cutting off your trust fund?" Barton asked. Felicity glared at him. Being banished was upsetting enough for Thor without Agent Smartass making jokes about it. Thor gave her an amused look and gently squeezed her arm.

"That's Super-Secret Government Agent Smartass." Barton corrected. Felicity closed her eyes.

"I am Asgardian, Agent Barton." Thor said.

"What are your intentions towards our planet?" Coulson asked.

"I have none." Thor said. "I came here with nothing and had the lady Felicity not found me and given me shelter I do not know what would have become of me." He looked down at Felicity, his eyes full of gratitude and affection. Felicity felt her face burn and looked away. Catching Oliver's eye she saw that he looked cold, distant. Before she could give this expression any thought Coulson asked another question.

"What about the hammer?"

Thor tensed. "Mjolnir." He murmured. "It is truly on this realm?"

"You're saying you don't know." Coulson asked.

"My father took it from me before he cast me out." Thor said softly. "I have not been able to summon it to me since." He looked as broken as the day he'd failed to call Mjolnir to him. Felicity glared at Coulson.

"That's enough." She said.

"Ballsy." Barton said. "Stupid, but ballsy."

"He's answered your questions and I think it's clear he's not going to hurt anyone." She continued, ignoring Barton. "So just leave him alone."

Coulson gave her a contemplative look before nodding. "We're just going to need a blood sample."

"What?" Felicity growled.

"We need to make sure there aren't any foreign microbes that might harm us mere mortals." Coulson explained.

"He's been living with me for the last 2 months." Felicity hissed. "If there were, I would have shown symptoms."

"Well talking back to a person who could make it look like you never existed is a sign of psychosis." Barton said. Sara turned to face him.

"Try it, I dare you." She growled. Barton just gave her an infuriating half smile.

"You'll give us the blood sample." Coulson said, calmly. "And we won't go to the authorities and tell them about Mr. Queen's night time activities and Ms. Lance's former employees." A tense silence fell over the room.

"That's blackmail." Oliver growled.

"I'm charged with protecting the world, Mr. Queen." Coulson shrugged. "So at the end of the day, the needs of the planet outweigh yours."

Sara took a menacing step forward. "If you know I'm league, then you know what I'm capable of." She threatened.

"True, assuming you can beat me. Coulson didn't bring me along for my dashing good looks and charming conversation skills." Barton said. "Then there's my best friend. She was trained by the Red Room. You may have heard of her: alairmilat alssuda?"

Sara's eyes widened and she took a horrified step backwards. Barton nodded. "And while she might find me annoying, she won't like it if someone killed me. Mostly cuz she wants to do it herself. I die; she comes looking for those responsible."

Coulson cleared his throat, "the blood sample, or everyone here ends up cooling their heels in a cell while waiting for sentencing for aiding and abetting vigilantism."

"I've been undercover in prison." Barton added. "Trust me, it's about as fun as it sounds."

"Enough squabbling." Thor growled,

"Thor." Felicity said, but he shook his head and stepped away from her. Holding out his arm he glared at Coulson.

"There was no need to threaten these people."

"You seemed to be too honorable to let them suffer for you." Coulson said as he pulled a syringe from his pocket. Thor looked at it skeptically.

"That will not pierce my skin." He said. Coulson gave him an enigmatic smile

"It's partially made of vibrainium."

"That's impossible." Digg blurted out. Everyone looked over at him in surprise "The world's only piece of vibrainium disappeared with Captain America after WW2." He explained.

Barton chuckled "Looks like we have another Cap fanboy here."

Instead of answering Coulson put the needle in Thor's arm. Thor looked shocked, but didn't resist. After he'd drawn one vial of blood, he reached into his pocket for another. Felicity stepped forward and snatched the needle out of Thor's arm. Coulson frowned at her.

"One's enough." She said. "You're just testing for pathogens. You get one and you don't get to come back for seconds. He's not your lab rat." Coulson looked at her and then at Thor.

"Well I guess that's it for now." He said, putting the vial in a plastic bag and handing it to Barton. "Unless you want to discuss how you plan on handling the enhanced mercenary?"

They knew about Slade, of course they did. Everyone turned to look at Oliver. His jaw locked and he stared down the 2 agents.

"Look, you really don't know what you're dealing with." Barton said. "I've fought some of these people before and –"

"Actually," Sara said. "We do."

Coulson frowned. "How much about this do you know?"

Sara and Oliver looked at each other. They appeared to be having a conversation with their eyes. Finally Sara broke eye contact and turned back to the agents. "It's a serum called Mirakuru. It was developed in Japan during WW2 to give the country an answer to Captain America and…it does sort of work."

"Sara." Oliver growled.

"They can help us." She insisted. Turning back to Coulson and Barton she sighed. "We found some and injected it into a friend who was dying. It drove him crazy. He…he's here in Starling because he wants to kill Oliver and all he holds dear."

"His name?" Coulson prompted.

"Slade Wilson." Sara said.

Coulson sighed. "You wouldn't happen to have any of this…Mirakuru lying around, would you?"

"No." Oliver said firmly. Roy coughed. "No." Oliver repeated. "Who says we can trust them?"

"We wouldn't use it for experimental purposes." Coulson said solemnly.

"Yeah." Barton drawled. "We don't need a new Captain America." He smirked as Coulson shot him a warning look.

Roy stepped forward and cleared his throat. "You…you might want to clean off the needle." He said, holding out his arm. "I was injected with it. I'm enhanced the same way Slade is."

Coulson looked at him with interest. "Does this fact make you happy?"

"No." Roy glared. "I can't go outside without getting a headache from the thousand different noises and smells around me. I can barely go to work without wanting to punch every guy who pisses me off. I can't hold my girlfriend without being afraid that I might crush her or…" he looked haunted. "I never wanted this. The strength, the healing; it isn't worth it."

Coulson looked at him sadly. "Even Captain America's serum wasn't perfect. It made good men better, but bad men evil." He shook his head. "I can't imagine the war that must be going on in your head right now because while you seem like a decent guy, you're no Steve Rogers."

Roy gritted his teeth. "Do you think you'll be able to find a cure?"

Barton nodded. "We've got access to the world's leading scientists." He shrugged. "If the Science Babies can't find a cure, no one can."

The corner of Coulson's mouth ticked upward. "I'm telling them you said that."

"Do it and I make sure Fury finds out that you stole his eyepatch for a Halloween costume."

Coulson paled. "Arm, please?"

After taking a blood sample from Roy, the agents waited until Oliver had given them the full explanation of what had transpired on the island with him and Slade. Sara offered everything she knew about Ivo's research into the serum. Finally they left with promises that they would contact them soon.

"I think we should all go home." Digg suggested. Everyone numbly agreed. Felicity walked to her car, agitated.

"My lady." Thor said, putting his hand on her arm as she opened the car door. "You are tense."

"I'm fine. Are you fine, I'm…" she stopped, breathing heavily. Shutting the door, she waited for Thor to get in the passenger seat.

"I do not believe they mean us harm, my lady." He said.

Felicity sniffed and turned the key in the ignition. They drove in silence. Parking in front of Felicity's building, she turned off the car, but neither of them got out.

"I don't want to lose you." She said softly. "I'm terrified that they'll come in the middle of the night and drag you away." She bit her lip, shocked at how vulnerable her words were. How much Thor had worked his way into her heart. She turned her face away from his, embarrassed. Getting out of the car, she began walking towards her door. Then she felt a warm hand brush her cheek.

"Felicity, look at me." He said. She shook her head. "Please." He asked. She gingerly turned. He was staring at her, his eyes full of concern and determination. "I swear to you that whatever happens, I will always return to you."

"Don't make promises you can't keep." Felicity said, her voice strained. Thor smiled.

"I never do." He said, pulling her into his arms. Felicity hesitated a second before reaching up and putting her hands on both sides of his face. He leaned down and she kissed him. It was gentle at first, then Thor wrapped his arms tighter around her and pressed her against him. She put her arms around his neck, burying her fingers in his hair.

"We should…" She gasped, pulling away from him. "We should."

"Go inside." Thor agreed. "I do not wish to share your pleasure with the street." He stopped and stepped back. "That is… I did not mean to imply…" Felicity grabbed her keys and opened the door. She knew Thor wouldn't make the first move, he was too honorable. Turning, she bit her lip. She was terrified. Of SHIELD, Slade, of being left alone again. If Slade came after the team there was a good chance she was in danger and that the fight would cost her the only friends she'd ever known. If SHIELD took Thor…she'd lose the man she was beginning to love. Just like she'd lost Cooper…and her father. Stepping forward, she placed her hand on his forearm.

"Come inside, Thor." She said. He stepped inside the apartment, shutting the door behind him and pressing his lips to hers.


	16. Chapter 16

**AN:** Full disclosure. I didn't change the rating on this story, and therefore there is a chapter missing here. It's not important in terms of the narrative of the plot, but if you want to read it, it's on AO3. You can just go there and enjoy it, then come back here to read this. (It's chapter 16 in the AO3 version)

* * *

Felicity blinked at the light filtering in through the windows. Turning slightly, she felt her muscles cramping slightly. "aaaaaah." She groaned. There was a low chuckle from next to her and she felt a warm chest press against her back.

"Good morning." Thor murmured.

"You are real." she said. Thor reached around and turned her over. Felicity hummed contentedly as he pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"I was just thinking the same thing." He said. "I had to resist touching you because I did not want to wake you."

Felicity wound her arms around his neck. "You were watching me sleep?" she asked. Thor nodded, tracing patterns on her back.

"I was…wondering how I came to be so fortunate." He said softly. "That you were the one who found me in that forest. I…I always believed Midgardians to be backwards, primitive and…" he looked away, embarrassed. "Knowing you has made me realize that there is much more to the 9 realms than I previously believed." He kissed her, "Thank you." He whispered as he pulled away. "Thank you for showing me how wrong I was."

Felicity felt tears pricking her eyes.

"There is no need to cry, my lady." He reached up and wiped away her tears.

"Sorry." She gulped. "These are happy tears." She looked back at him. "I just…didn't know it was possible to…" she didn't know how to express the words she knew she felt in her heart. She'd always been wary of expressing her true feelings; especially since she'd been hurt so many times. "I usually keep my feelings to myself because…I'm scared of losing people close to me. You…knowing you has made me brave."

"You always were." Thor smiled.

Felicity bit her lip. "What I'm trying to say, is that I didn't think it was possible to care as deeply for someone as I do for you."

Thor's eyes shone.

"Now who's crying?" Felicity teased.

"These aren't tears." Thor said stubbornly, leaning forward he buried his face in her neck.

"Of course not." Felicity said. "The mighty Thor does not cry."

"Precisely." Thor said.

Felicity and tried to stretch. "I can't move." she gasped as she took in the soreness of her muscles.

"Then I have you at my mercy." Thor grinned as Felicity snuggled against him.

"Mmmm. Thunder cuddles."

Thor coughed. "Thunder…cuddles?" he looked at her in amusement.

Felicity wrinkled her nose. "It sounded much cuter in my head."

"Cute?" Thor looked insulted.

"Uh huh. Because you're cute." Felicity said, tapping his nose. Thor grabbed her finger.

"Careful." He teased.

"Or what?" Felicity grinned. "You'll have me thrown into the stocks?"

Thor laughed. Felicity watched him; he seemed so at ease and happy. Then she glanced at the clock and groaned. "Nooo." She tried to sit up. "I have to go to work in like an hour."

"That's plenty of time." Thor tugged her back down.

"Considering how little I can move, I'd say it's not enough." She allowed herself to tumble back down. "I'm sore. In the best way." She assured. Thor gave her a smug look of satisfaction. "This is totally your fault."

"I thought you weren't going to say things to inflate my ego?" He said, teasingly.

"You're a terrible influence on me."

"Most definitely." He said, solemnly, his face breaking into a grin. Felicity closed her eyes, building up the will to leave the bed. Maybe if she didn't look at him, she'd be able resist.

"What do you want for breakfast?" She asked, trying to steer the conversation into less dangerous waters.

"You." Thor said Her eyes flew open.

"Thooooor." She groaned. "I'm trying to be good."

He grinned, "Isn't it more fun to be bad?" He said.

"Humph." Felicity pushed him away. "I don't think I can do any bad things with all thise soreness." She paused. "Hey," she frowned. "Aren't you…?" She trailed off as Thor gave her a sheepish look. "Unbelievable. I bet you don't feel a damn thing."

Thor chuckled, but took pity on her and got up. Grabbing his underwear off the floor and putting it on, he picked her up.

"Where?" Felicity asked.

"The shower." He replied. "It will aid to relax the aching in your limbs." He gave her grin which made her stomach flutter. She pressed her face against his chest…and the front door to her apartment was blasted off its hinges. She and Thor turned to the door to see darkly clad people with guns enter into the apartment.

"Thor, run." Felicity said, attempting to jump down from his arms. He placed her behind him and attempted to block the armed men from reaching her. One of them shot him with a taser and he went down. "Thor." Felicity said, just as one of the men covered her with sheet. She couldn't see anything but she could feel herself being dragged out and loaded into a van. Pushing her head out of the sheet, she looked around her. The van lurched into motion and she fell to the floor. She looked around and caught sight of a woman in a dark suit staring at her with amusement.

"It is good to finally meet you, Ms. Smoak." She said.

"Who are you?" She asked.

"Amanda Waller." She held out a syringe and injected something into Felicity's shoulder. "We have much to discuss." Felicity felt her eyes grow heavy. Though she fought the urge, her vision swam and then there was nothing but blackness.

* * *

Felicity woke in an interrogation room. Starting up, she pulled back only to find that her hands were chained to a table. She was aching everywhere and instead of the good aches from this morning, this was infinitely more painful. "Where am I?" She called out. "Hello?" She shivered; someone had at least given her a t shirt and a pair of sweatpants. She gulped, her brain conjuring up images of the men who'd broken in her apartment dressing her, touching her. She hyperventilated. They'd taken her…they'd taken Thor. In spite of the nightmare scenarios she'd imagined this was somehow worse.

The door opened and the woman from the van, Amanda Waller, walked in.

"What do you want from me?" Felicity asked. "Where's Thor?"

"The alien is none of your concern." Waller said, sitting across from her. "What you need to focus on is whether or not you answer my questions properly."

Felicity glared at her. "I've got nothing to say."

"Then listen." Waller said. "Your friend is an alien. He's a threat, not only to this country, but to the world and the species." She glared. "And you harboring him makes you an accessory."

"Accessory to what?" Felicity shouted. "He's not here to hurt anyone."

"You're naïve." Waller said.

"And you're paranoid." Felicity shot back. Waller chuckled.

"Do you know what I see when I look at you?" She said. "I see a little girl who broke into her parent's closet, tried on her mother's clothes and thought that made her an adult." She opened up a folder. "Play time is over. Just because you're helping Oliver doesn't make you able to operate on my level."

Felicity swallowed and braced herself, trying to not let her fear show. "Where's….Thor."

Waller raised an eyebrow. "Well this is going to make things more interesting." She sighed. "What are the alien's intentions towards the people of this planet?"

"Where are you keeping him?"

Waller shook her head. "Don't make this difficult on yourself, because if you continue to resist me, things will get very…unpleasant."

Felicity didn't respond. Waller sighed. "Well, don't say I didn't warn you." She pulled out a recording device. "How about we let your extraterrestrial friend hear how the interrogation is going? We wouldn't want him to miss the fun."

* * *

Thor was chained to a wall in a dark room. There were no windows and one door that was made of metal. Pulling against his restraints he couldn't make them budge. He had to get free, those men could be hurting Felicity. She needed him. Suddenly a scream tore through the silence. Thor looked around in shock; it was Felicity's voice.

"FELICITY." He shouted. There was no response. He redoubled his efforts to free himself.

"If you tell me what I want to know, this can stop." A woman's voice said.

"There's….nothing to tell." Felicity was sobbing. They were hurting her, torturing her.

"We both know that's not true." The woman said. "Now, once again; what are the alien's plans for this planet?"

The only sound was Felicity's heavy breathing.

"Well, let's try something simpler; where did he hide the device he used to get here?"

Felicity was silence. There was a striking noise followed by a strange low humming. Felicity screamed again.

He had to get out, had to free Felicity.

"STOP HURTING HER." he shouted. "SHE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS." His words went unheeded. He breathed heavily, the woman clearly thought he had some ill intentions and believed that he'd made Felicity an accomplice. There was no way Felicity could convince her otherwise because she'd already decided her interpretation of events was the truth.

"Well you certainly have made a mess, haven't you?"

Thor looked up in shock. "Loki?"

His brother gave him a tight smile. He was standing in front of him, looking just as he had the day Thor had been banished. The sight gave Thor hope. Surely his brother would help him free Felicity and punish those who'd hurt her.

"Brother." Thor grinned. "Brother, I need your help, I-"

"I would help, but I am not actually here." Loki said. "The Bifrost has been closed for security reasons."

"Se…security?" Thor asked. "What's happened?"

"Frost giants invaded Asgard again." Loki said. "They slaughtered hundreds of our people. It was only the Allfather's sacrifice that allowed us to push them back."

"Sacrifice?" Thor said weakly.

Loki nodded, gravely. "Father is dead. Asgard is at war."

Thor felt to his knees in front of the projection of his brother. His father was dead, his people in danger, and Felicity was being tortured. He was alone, powerless, unable to protect those he loved. Protect them from his own failures and mistakes. This was all his fault. Had he curbed his pride and not gone to Jotenheim to challenge the frost giants. Had he not attacked because of a stupid insult…he would never have been banished. He would never have met Felicity and brought her this pain. She would be safe, his father would be alive and Asgard would not be threatened with centuries of war. Everything he touched, he destroyed. Him and his pride and selfishness. "I am sorry brother." He said.

"I thought you had the right to know." Loki said.

"Brother, I beg of you." He looked up. "There is a woman being held in this facility. She's being tortured. She's…she doesn't deserve what is happening to her. Help her."

Loki's face was drawn. "I am sorry. I was only able to muster enough power to transport my image to Midgard." He held out his hand and brushed it against the wall and the image of it shimmered and faded. "There's nothing I can do for your friend."

Thor hung his head, hopeless.

"I must go."

"Loki." Thor said, swallowing slowly. "It is good for Asgard that you sit on the throne." He bit his lip. "You are a more wise and worthy king than I would ever have been."

Loki gave him a look which was akin to confusion, than nodded. "Perhaps once the war is over, I might be able to release you from your banishment." He disappeared.

Another one of Felicity's screams echoed in the room. Thor looked up at the ceiling and howled with rage. He didn't care what happened to him, he needed free her.

* * *

Loki chuckled as he watched his oafish brother fight against his chains. "Has the Arrow discovered the woman's abduction, yet?"

Slade came forward. "Yes." He grinned.

"It is time." Loki grinned. "I will prepare the Destroyer."


	17. Chapter 17

Felicity slumped in her chair sobbing. Waller had brought in one of her agents to use a stun baton on her. She hadn't done the dirty work herself, but had instead stood off to the side, asking questions.

"Let's take a break." Waller said, stepping back. "Maybe she'll be more compliant once she takes a moment to think."

Felicity gasped for air. "I told you, he's not here to hurt anyone. You're wasting your time torturing me. You should be hunting for Slade; he's the real danger."

Waller ignored her and was about to go to the door when sounds of cries, gunfire and explosions came from outside. "What's happening out there?" She barked into an earpiece." She frowned as she listened to the other person's explanations. Turning, she fixed Felicity with a death glare. "Your boyfriend's invasion has begun."

"What are you talking about?" Felicity said, looking warily as Waller pulled out a gun.

"You're going to be my leverage." Waller continued. "If he cares about his human pet, he'll call off his robot." Felicity got the impression that she wasn't talking, but rather thinking out loud. Waller produced keys from her pocket and removed the part of her restraints which were attached to the table. Dragging her to her feet, she pulled her out of the room. Felicity caught glimpses of running agents, fire, and destruction. Waller pulled her into an elevator and brought her to a lower level. Pulling her along a hallway, she punched in a code, opening a large thick metal door. She shoved Felicity inside. Falling to her knees on the ground, Felicity attempted to crawl away from Waller.

"Felicity."

She looked up; Thor was chained to the wall, his wrists raw from attempting to break through.

"Felicity, I am so sorry." He said. She was about to reassure him when Waller grabbed her by the hair and pressed the gun to her head.

"Call off your robot, or I paint the walls with her brains."

Thor glared at Waller. "How dare you hurt her? She's not a threat to you and neither am I."

"You tell that to my agents who are currently dying out there because of your robot." Waller growled.

"What are you talking about?" Thor asked.

"Don't pretend you don't know." She shouted. "Shut it off or-"

The door and a section of the wall was blasted down. Waller whipped around, dragging Felicity with her. Standing in the hole was an extremely tall armor plated robot. Waller let go of her hair and pointed the gun at the robot, emptying her clip into it. The bullets bounced harmlessly off the robot's chest. The robot simply brushed her aside. She hit the wall and slumped down, unconscious. The robot turned to Thor.

"The Destroyer." He murmured. "Felicity. You must run."

Felicity dragged herself across the floor and tugged on his chains. "Not without you."

"Felicity, that robot is of Asgard and it will obliterate all in its path." He pleaded. Felicity was suddenly yanked back. The Destroyer had grabbed her around the waist. Turning around, it carried her out of the room. All she could hear was Thor shouting at the destroyer's back.

* * *

Thor roared and cursed at the Destroyer's back. How had that…thing gotten here from Asgard and why would it have taken Felicity? The destroyer's only purpose was to extinguish all life around it. Why would it have abducted her? He wracked his brains attempting to discover why…

"Rough day?" Thor looked up.

"Agent Barton." He sighed. "I never believed I would happy to see you."

The SHIELD agent pulled a device out of his hand and cut the chains. "Where's nerdy Barbie?" He asked.

"The Destroyer took her." Thor said, stretching his arms.

Barton frowned. "I'm assuming that that's the big mean golden transformer looking thing that basically leveled this facility?"

Thor left the room.

"Wait." Barton yelled after him. "Coulson sent me to bring you back to regroup with the rest of the team."

"This is my fight." Thor said.

"How do you figure?" Barton said, jogging after him.

Thor stopped. "That…machine came from Asgard. Whoever sent it wanted to harm me. She was taken because of her connection to me. Whoever is controlling it intends to fight me. If I hand over myself no one else will be harmed."

"Thor." Barton yelled after him. "THOR!"

Thor ignored him. Running into the night, he followed the path of broken buildings cars and screaming people. Ahead, he could see the Destroyer carrying a struggling Felicity. She was screaming at the top of her lungs. The Destroyer was blasting anyone who got too close. Thor ran, trying to think who could want this level of murder, mayhem, chaos….chaos. Thor faltered and tripped over a hole in the street. Chaos; Loki.

He didn't understand, what would Loki want with Felicity. And why would he have lied to Thor's face, was Asgard even under attack?

"BROTHER" he shouted at the Destroyer, but it ignored him. Suddenly a car pulled up next to him.

"Get in." Digg said. Thor gratefully climbed into the back seat with Sara and Roy.

"What is that thing?" Sara asked as they began driving. She handed him one of the team's communication devices which Thor put in his ear.

"An Asgardian weapon. It was meant to be sealed in the palace armory because it was too dangerous for anyone to wield." Thor explained.

"Well who's wielding it?" Oliver growled. Thor bit his lip. "Do you know who?" The Arrow growled dangerously.

"I believe it is my brother." Thor said his voice low; ashamed. "But for the life of me I do not understand why."

"Maybe you pissed him off." Oliver muttered.

"Really not the time, Oliver." Digg said.

"Verily." Thor agreed. "It has Felicity."

"WHAT?" Digg nearly drove the car into a downed street lamp. "You wait to tell us this now?" He hissed.

"Let me out." Roy growled. "I'm going to tear that tin can limb from limb."

"You will only succeed in getting yourself killed." Thor said. "We must follow it."

"If it hurts Felicity." Oliver began.

"I do not believe that is Loki's intention." Thor said.

Sara's phone rang. "Dad, I'm a little busy chasing the giant angry robot that's destroying downtown." She growled, then her expression paled. "What? When?" She pressed her lips together tightly then gave a short nod. "I'll…I…" She looked around nervously. "I'll see what I can do." She hung up. "Isabel Rochev just kidnapped Laurel."

"Isabel?" Oliver asked.

"It gets worse." Sara said. "My dad said she was…enhanced. Laurel was at the police station and Isabel just walked in and effortlessly snapped the necks of all those who tried to get in her way….and that she stabbed those who didn't get close enough with two swords she had on her back."

Oliver slumped in his seat. "She's working with Slade." He said weakly.

"Laurel's phone is in her pocket." Sara continued. "We could trace it…" she stopped speaking. Thor understood; they could have traced it if Felicity was there.

"Which is why you're lucky you have us." Barton's voice crackled over the coms. "Science babies, do your thing."

"I would really appreciate it if you stopped calling them that." Coulson sighed. Thor turned around and sure enough, their car was being followed by a dark van. Barton was halfway out of the sun roof holdling…

"Is that a bow?" Oliver growled.

"I'll have you know," Barton said. "That I was using this first."

"Boys." Everyone groaned.

"You're…Hawkeye?" Oliver asked.

"Yup." Barton said. "You may now commence the worship."

"Agent Coulson sir." A young woman's voice said from inside the van. "It appears that Ms. Lance's phone is headed in the same general direction as the robot."

"Where are they going?" Thor asked.

"Queen Consolidated."

Oliver looked at Digg. "Floor it."

"No need to tell me twice." He said.

When they arrived at the QC Building, Oliver got out of the car first. Thor followed him and they both stared in horror at the building. The Destroyer was climbing up the side of the building, Felicity thrown over its shoulder.

"She hates heights." Oliver said, pulling his bow and an arrow.

"Are you mad?" Thor hissed, grabbing his arm. "Shooting the Destroyer will do nothing and you could miss and hit her."

"I don't miss." Oliver said through gritted teeth. "And I wasn't planning on bringing it down." He shot the arrow which had a cable trailing behind it. "I'm bringing myself up." He pulled on the rope and it retracted into the arrow lifting him upwards. "Try the stairs." He shouted at Thor.

"WOULD YOU RISK THE LIVES OF OTHERS FOR YOUR OWN PRIDE?" Thor shouted.

"Slade wants me."

"Slade appears to be working with my brother." Thor said. Barton got out of the SHIELD van and shot a similar cable arrow.

"There, now you can go follow him. We'll take the elevator."

Thor grabbed hold of the cable and followed Oliver to the roof. When he arrived, he dove behind one of the large antennae. Oliver was across from him, watching the destroyer and two other figures. Felicity was on the ground at the destroyer's feet and across from her, on the ground as well, was another woman, who Thor supposed was Laurel.

"What are you doing here?" Loki's voice emanated from the Destroyer's face plate. "You were meant to be out destroying the city."

"I'm sick of taking orders from you." Slade said. "I thought the purpose of the Destroyer was to destroy."

"Which is why I came here." Loki hissed. "This is one of the highest points in the city, giving me the widest range of potential mayhem."

"I want Queen to suffer." Slade growled, "these are the two women he loves the most. I'm going to make him choose."

"After I carry out my own plans." Loki growled.

Thor knew Slade was fighting a losing battle. Loki was infinitely more powerful than him. In addition, he did not hold mortals in high regard. Slade was a pawn, nothing more; a pawn which could easily be sacrificed.

Thor stood slowly. Stepping out of his hiding place, he held up his hands. "Brother." He said. The Destroyer, Slade, and Isabel turned to face him. "I surrender myself to your mercy." He moved slowly forward. "Whatever I have done to offend you, I am truly sorry for it. Just let Felicity go."

The Destroyer tilted its head in the same way Loki did when he was faced with an interesting puzzle. The sight confirmed his worst suspicions; how many times had he seen his brother make the exact same move? Thor felt his heart sink, but Felicity's frightened expression cemented his resolve. "Brother, I beg of you."

"Enough of this family soap opera." Slade hissed. "I need Ms. Smoak." He lunged at Felicity only to find himself blasted back. There was a giant gaping hole in his chest. Slade coughed, stumbled, and fell back off the side of the building. The Destroyer turned his attention back to Thor. Then Loki appeared, standing next to it.

"He had out lived his usefulness." He shrugged. Isabel rushed at him, but Loki held up a hand. She was blasted off the side of the building by the Destroyer. "You're looking particularly good, brother." He grinned down at Felicity. "I guess a quick poke between the legs of a Midgardian whore will put you back in good spirits." He knelt down and brushed a strand of hair back from her face. "Perhaps I should sample what she has to offer."

"Don't-" Thor growled, taking a step forward.

"Ah ah" Loki held up a hand, the Destroyer turned towards Laurel Lance. "While I dearly want to taste your little bed-warmer I have no need for Queen's."

Thor froze. In his ear he could hear Queen's heavy breathing; the man was about to do something exceptionally stupid.

"Loki." He said, attempting to reason with him.

"I don't know which I'd prefer." Loki continued. "You, dying slowly, painfully; watching while I make your whore mine?" He grinned as Thor ground his teeth. "Or, maybe I'll do it quickly? Throw your pathetic lifeless body at the mighty Allfather's feet when he wakes from the Odinsleep."

"Father's alive?" Thor asked.

"For now." Loki said. "He's next. Then me and your Midgardian pet will bathe in your blood while I –"

"That's ENOUGH." Thor shouted, he threw himself forward; going right through Loki. He crashed into the Destroyer, the momentum pushing them both backwards. They fell off the side of the roof. He could hear Felicity screaming his name as he fell. The air whistled past him. He grabbed hold of the Destroyer's head, trying to rip it off. He knew it was futile, knew there was absolutely nothing he could do, but he needed to protect Felicity. Holding out his hand, he reflexively did the one thing he thought he could do. He attempted to summon Mjolnir.

"Not for me." He said, thinking of Laurel, the people in the wreckage the Destroyer had caused, Team Arrow, and finally of Felicity. Beautiful, kind Felicity who he loved with all his soul. He had no way of knowing if it would work; in fact he was sure it wouldn't. He and the Destroyer were about 25 feet from impacting the ground when a familiar handle flew into his hand. He grabbed hold of the hammer; his strength and power resurging through his veins. "Thank you." He whispered and swung it upwards.

* * *

Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed. Felicity had rushed to the edge of the building to see what was happening. The Destroyer had crashed to the ground. Already it was sitting up and turning its attention to the top of the building. Thor…he was gone. He was nowhere to be seen.

"You monster." She shouted at Loki, trying to fight the tears which were pouring out of her eyes.

"If only you know how right you are." Loki sneered, reaching for her again.

"Don't touch me." She pulled away from him. She glanced past him and saw that Oliver had come out from behind one of the antennae. He could take Laurel and get her some place safe if she kept Loki distracted and focused on her.

"You are so…lively." Loki said. He took a step closer and sniffed her hair. "Warm."

"Get off of her." a voice rumbled from behind her. She and Loki turned to see Thor. Her jaw dropped. This wasn't the adorable man who stuffed his face with Big Belly Burger on her couch. This was Thor, god of thunder. He was dressed in armor with a large billowing red cape. In his fist he held Mjolnir. Grabbing the Destroyer, which had just made it back to the roof, he tossed it between the two antennae. "I would suggest evacuating the roof, Mr. Queen." He said. Oliver grabbed Laurel and shot a zip line to the next building. Handing her the bow, he pushed her off, she zipped screaming to the next building. Then he came over to Felicity.

"Come on." He said. Felicity shook her head.

Spinning the hammer above his head, Thor summoned a bolt of lightning. It hit the two antennae and fried the destroyer.

"Metal conducts electricity, brother." Thor said. "I am overloading the Destroyer's power reserves."

Loki took one look at the smoking shell that was all that remained of the Destroyer before turning to Felicity. "I'll be back for you later." He vanished.

"Felicity." Thor said, walking over to her. She threw her arms around him. "You are safe."

She nodded. There was another rumble in the sky. "I must return to Asgard to stop my brother from harming anyone else." He pressed her against his chest. "I swear to you he will never lay a hand on you or anyone else again." He looked up, giving the sky a slight frown.

"Go." She said.

He seemed unsure. Grabbing her again he pulled her into a passionate kiss. "I will return for you, my heart." He murmured.

He stepped back. Looking up at the sky he held up his hammer. "HEIMDALL." There was a blinding flash of light…then he was gone.


	18. Chapter 18

Thor knelt on the edge of the rainbow bridge, looking out into the endless expanse of space. He'd had no choice. The battle with Loki had damaged the Bifrost so badly that he'd had to destroy it.

"Forgive me, Felicity." He murmured into the vast blackness in front of him, knowing it was futile; she couldn't hear him.

"Son." Odin's voice came from behind him. Thor turned to look at him. Odin was sitting on Sleipnir. Thor ground his teeth as Felicity's words about Loki's child ran through his head.

"Father." he said.

"We missed you at the victory feast." He said. Thor nodded curtly.

"I did not feel like celebrating." He said.

Odin looked down, his face drawn in sadness. "Loki's betrayal has cut us all deeply." He said mournfully.

"True." Thor agreed, "However I cannot help but wonder what would have caused him to resent us so vehemently."

"He was a frost giant." Odin sighed wearily "I was a fool to believe I could make him reject his own nature."

Thor frowned. "Perhaps you never gave him the chance." He turned back to the void, but not before he caught sight of Odin's stormy expression.

"You have changed, my son." Odin remarked.

"Was that not the purpose of your banishment?" Thor said icily. "Consider what made Loki hate us so while you ride back to your palace on the back of your grandson." He heard his father turn and gallop away. Heimdall came to stand next to him.

"There is no longer a gate for you to guard, old friend." Thor murmured.

"And yet you keep vigil all the same." Heimdall said quietly.

Thor stood and faced the gate keeper. "Can you…" he stopped, nervous as to what the answer might be. "Can you see her?"

Heimdall nodded. "She is well, Prince Thor."

"Could you watch over her?" he asked softly. Heimdall raised an eyebrow. Thor understood why; before his banishment he would have simply demanded. Heimdall put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"The Bifrost will be repaired one day." He said. Thor felt his heart sink.

"What is a short time for us is an eternity for them." He said, looking out.

"Do not lose hope, Prince Thor." Heimdall said. "There are other ways in and out of Asgard."

"Only known to Loki." Thor said.

"True, but he had to learn of them somewhere." Heimdall said.

Thor's eyes widened. "Thank you, old friend." He pulled Heimdall into a quick embrace before rushing back to the palace.

* * *

The media reported it as a crazed ARGUS experiment gone rogue. That was the story Coulson had told them and he'd threatened Team Arrow with unimaginable consequences if any of them deviated from that version of events. It had been days. Thor wasn't back.

She knew what the others were thinking. They didn't say anything, but she could tell. She could see it in the pitying looks Laurel would throw her when she came into the lair to rope Oliver and Sara into helping her solve a case. She saw it in the way Digg would occasionally glare at the sky as if daring some deity to cross him. In the way Roy would give her a tight lipped smile. In Sara's small murmurs of encouragement to not give up hope. In the small hopeful looks Oliver gave her each passing day. They all thought he wasn't coming back…that he'd abandoned her.

A month passed, then 2, then 3. Moira won the election. Sara and Oliver broke up. Roy was given a cure created by SHIELD scientists; life went on. Felicity forced Oliver to send her back to IT and threw herself into her work.

"Felicity." Digg said, knocking on the door to her office.

"Hey," she forced a smile. "How are you?"

Digg shut the door and sat in the chair front of her desk. He was holding a bag. "Did you eat today?" He asked softly. Felicity opened her mouth then shut it.

"I…I think I had a yogurt."

"When?" Digg glared.

"This…yesterday morning." Felicity admitted, hanging her head.

Digg put the bag on her desk. "Eat. I'm not leaving until you do."

"Digg." She protested.

"No arguments, Felicity."

She sighed and grabbed the bag. Opening it, she pulled out a juice box, sandwich, and apple. "What am I, 5?"

"Considering the fact that you can't seem to be trusted to feed yourself I'd say yes." Digg retorted.

Felicity poked the juice box. "You didn't include a note." She said, trying to stall. She really didn't want to upset Digg, but at the same time the thought of eating made her sick.

He sighed, his expression softening as she eyed the sandwich suspiciously. "It's turkey, I know you can't have ham."

"Thanks, Digg." She murmured, getting choked up at Digg's thoughtfulness.

"You can thank me by eating all of it." He said. Felicity wrinkled her nose.

"It's not that I don't want to." She said, "it's that I've been kinda sick every time I wake up and…I couldn't even thing about food this morning. I barely managed that yogurt yesterday."

"Have you been sleeping?" Digg asked. "And before you answer that, you should know that I pinged your phone last night."

Felicity crossed her arms. "Why even bother asking me the question then?"

Digg looked at her in concern. "I know you miss him and that you're angry, but starving yourself and driving out into the middle of nowhere every night just because he 'might come back' is hurting you."

"For the record; I only did that last night." Felicity said. "I just…" She closed her eyes, a wave of dizziness.

"Felicity?"

She gasped and slid to the floor, her head spinning, the floor swallowing her up as she fell unconscious.

"What's wrong with her?" Oliver asked.

"She fainted."

"I can see that, Roy." He snapped. "I want to know why."

There were beeping noises. Felicity blinked. "Where am I?" She asked, covering her eyes at the brightness. Someone handed her her glasses.

"Easy." Digg said. "I brought you to the hospital. You fainted."

Felicity looked around, Oliver Sara, Roy and Digg were all standing around her. A doctor came in.

"I'm Dr. Johnson, Felicity. Good news." She said. "It's only slight dehydration." She pushed past Oliver and gave Felicity a small smile. "I need to take your blood pressure." Felicity held out her arm. Wincing as she looked at the IV needle in her arm.

"Was that really necessary?" She asked.

"Yes." Dr. Johnson said. "Though now that you're awake we can take it out." Felicity looked away as she pulled the needle out of her arm and felt another wave of nausea hit her.

"I think I'm going to be sick." She groaned.

"Well that's not surprising, all things considered." The doctor said cheerfully.

"All things…considered?" Felicity asked.

Dr. Johnson nodded, then she put, what Felicity supposed was meant to be a reassuring hand, on her shoulder. "Oh, but don't worry, the baby's fine."

Everyone's jaw dropped. Felicity felt as though she'd been punched in the gut…which, considering that there was a tiny human inside her, was probably true.

"The….the baby?" Felicity said.

"You're about 3 months along." Dr. Johnson grinned. Then she looked at her in surprise. "Did you not know?"

3 months.

Judging from the way Oliver's expression darkened and how he turned and stormed from the room he'd done the math. Roy's eyes widened, Sara gulped while Digg covered his face.

"I'm pregnant?" Felicity said. The doctor nodded. "I'm PREGNANT?" She yelled.

"Easy Felicity." Digg said.

"I will kill him." She said. "YOU HEAR THAT?" She shouted at the ceiling. "YOU'RE DEAD."

The doctor stepped backwards, looking at Digg in confusion.

"The father is a….pilot." Digg said, lamely. Just as Roy said, "Astronaut." They looked at each other like deer caught in the head lights.

"Ummm."

"He's a pilot for NASA." Sara said, rolling her eyes at the two.

The nurse nodded, appearing to buy the excuse. "I'll leave you alone." She left the room.

3 months. Felicity covered her face, going over the details of her night with Thor; she hadn't used protection. How could she have been so careless? "I'm alone, knocked up…oh my god. I became my mother." She began hyperventilating.

"You have us, Felicity." Digg said.

"Yeah." Roy said. "And if you need someone to kick He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's ass…"

"He'd need to be here." Felicity said, feeling the stab of loneliness whenever she thought of…him. "I don't know if I can do this."

"We'll help you in any way we can."

"That's not the biggest problem." Felicity said. "This baby…is half alien. What if it comes out with 3 heads or some kind of genetic mutation because our DNA isn't compatible. What if it…" she stopped unable to give voice to her fear; images of mangled infants struggling for air, her imagination continuously conjuring up more and more gruesome alternatives.

"It'll be alright." Digg said, hugging her as she sobbed. "You'll be okay; you both will."

* * *

"Well this is something I never believed I would see." Fandral's voice jerked him awake. Thor sat up and looked around him, annoyed.

"I don't know what you mean." Sif grinned. "The sight of Thor asleep on a book is not uncommon."

Thor glared at them, stretched and went back to his reading. Volstagg walked over and put a hand to his forehead. "You have transferred half of the library into your quarters. Are you ill?"

"He's in love." Sif said, sitting on one of the chairs. "It is a kind of illness."

Hogun picked up one of the books on the ground. "These books belonged to Loki." He said.

"I am attempting to discover how he managed to travel across realms." Thor growled. "Either help me, or leave."

"Thor." Sif said.

"Sif, I am not in the mood for any of your witty jabs at my expense." He sighed, rubbing his eyes.

"The lady Felicity is with child." Sif said.

Thor dropped the book and looked at her in shock. "What?" he leaned back and laughed. "Ah, I see; this is an attempt to shock me into coming to train with you."

Sif's expression remained grave; she wasn't joking.

"No." Thor said. "No. Heimdall would have informed me."

"Not if he was ordered not to." Sif said quietly. "The edict did not include me, doubtless because I am still considered lesser." Her voice was full of bitterness. "My brother told me so that I might be able to tell you."

Thor closed his eyes. Odin could make his orders magically binding. Heimdall could not violate it without forfeiting his life. "My father." He hissed, getting to his feet.

"Where are you going?" Fandral called after him.

"To expedite the royal succession process." Thor growled, his rage at his father boiling over. Summoning Mjolnir to his hand he stormed out of the room. He found Odin having his midday meal with his mother.

"How could you keep this from me?" He demanded.

Odin looked at him with pity. "Thor, I did not summon you."

"Well you're going to have to suffer my presence, regardless." He growled. "Did you know?" He asked his mother.

"Know what?" Frigga asked. "Odin, what is he talking about?"

"I didn't tell you, because it was immaterial." Odin shrugged.

"So immaterial that you imposed magical safeguards to ensure that Heimdall would be bound to silence." Thor growled. "I had the right-"

"You had no right." Odin slammed his hand on the table. "You violated an edict even more ancient than you or I when you bedded that mortal woman."

"I was unaware that I was still beholden to the laws of Asgard even while banished." Thor retorted. Frigga looked at Odin.

"Did something happen to the lady Felicity?" She asked. Odin snapped his eye to face his wife.

"She is no lady, and it matters not."

"SHE IS THE WOMAN I LOVE." Thor roared. "And she carries my child; the heir to the throne of Asgard."

Frigga glared over Odin. "You would keep the news of my grandchild hidden from me?"

"It is no grandchild of ours." Odin snarled. "It is not of Asgard and-"

"Do not include me in your anti Midgardian tirades." Frigga cut him off. "I no longer recognize the man I married. I believed my love for my sons could save them from you and your tyranny, but that crown has clouded your judgement and made you mad with power."

"We only have one son." Odin shouted.

"Yes, because our other one is dead." Frigga shouted. "Swallowed up by the emptiness of space; did you even mourn his passing?"

"You mourned enough for the two of us." Odin said dismissively.

"And now after you banished Thor to the realm of mortals you fault him for falling in love." Frigga said. "She sheltered him and protected him when all had turned their backs on him; for that I am grateful. From his description, the lady Felicity is a kind and generous woman more than worthy of my son's heart. I am proud that she carries my grandchild." She stood and put her hand on Thor's shoulder. "You must go to her, Thor."

"How?" He said weakly. "The Bifrost is broken."

Frigga glared at Odin.

"No." Odin said firmly.

"Odin." She said, raising an eyebrow.

"The power required-"

"You have more than enough." Frigga said, icily. "You just woke from an Odinsleep."

Odin sighed and gripped his spear. Standing he walked in front of Thor. "It will be a while before the Bifrost is repaired enough for you to return." He said.

Thor raised an eyebrow. "Then I am sure you will have the repairs finished much faster." He grinned. "If only to prevent me from providing you with more half Midgardian grandchildren."

A muscle in Odin's neck jumped.

"Wait." Frigga said. Pulling a necklace from around her neck she pressed it into Thor's palm. "For Felicity." She said.

"Thank you, mother." Thor said softly, giving her a kiss on the cheek. He stood in front of Odin, waiting. For a moment, he thought his father wouldn't go through with it.

"Reconsider; son." He said.

Thor shook his head. "No."

Odin looked over at Frigga, then sighed and struck the ground. There was a flash and Thor felt himself be pulled. He closed his eyes and when he opened them, he was standing in the center of the clearing where he had landed after his banishment. It was empty. He held Mjolnir up and was about to take off when he heard a beeping noise behind him. Then Coulson started speaking.

 _"If you're hearing this recording, it means that our equipment has detected a singularity similar to the one which occurred about a year ago. If anyone has dropped in, we mean you no harm and will be along to pick you up shortly. If this is Thor…Felicity's got some choice words for you."_

Thor bit back his grin; he was going to see Felicity. He waited and sure enough, there in the sky was one of the Midgardian flying machines with the SHIELD emblem. The cargo door opened and Thor flew up, landing in the jet.

"Well, if it isn't the big man himself." Agent Barton drawled from the pilot seat. "Coulson better tell Patient X to get her boxing mitts."

"Patient X?" Thor asked as the jet shut its door and flew away.

"That's the code name for your baby mama." Barton explained. "We moved her to a secure SHIELD medical facility in order to be able to monitor any potentially abnormal occurrences in her pregnancy." He smirked over at Thor. His expression faltered. "You don't seem surprised."

"I was already aware that she was with child." Thor said.

"Oh darn." Barton sighed in disappointment. "She was looking forward to the horrified look of surprise on your face and I was looking forward to robbing her of it."

Thor rolled his eyes. "How is she?"

"Pissed at you, though she's sure you had a very good reason to abandon her." Clint tossed him a sideways glare. "You do have a good reason, right? Because no one told her you're here and if your plan is to take off back to Hammer land –"

Thor shook his head. "I will not leave her side again…"he paused. "that is, if she will still have me."

"Good." Barton said. "Because I sorta started caring about her and if you broke her heart again…"

Thor grinned. "I am gratified that she was under your care in my absence."

Clint frowned. "Enough mushy stuff; you're giving me hives." He looked out at a large building complex they were approaching. "We're here."

* * *

Felicity was sitting up in bad, glaring at Coulson.

"You're supposed to be on bed rest." He said.

"This is the bed." She pointed. "I'm resting on it." She held out her hand. "Give it back."

"No." Coulson said, handing her tablet to one of the nurses and had her leave the room. "And I'm telling Ms. Lance that if she continues to sneak you in tech, she'll be hearing from me."

Felicity crossed her arms in irritation. "I'm bored." She said. "This kid is tap dancing on my bladder, I'm hungry for the weirdest things, and everyone's treating me like I might break at any point." She glared. "and…" She paused, putting a hand to her stomach. "Oh…" She looked down in horror at the flush of liquid between her legs. "I…" she looked up at Coulson in fear.

Coulson tapped a com in his ear. "Patient X's water has just broken."

Felicity looked at him in horror. "It's happening?"

He nodded, giving her a nervous smile; "it's happening." He bit his lip, breathing a sigh of relief when the nurses and the doctor came in. Felicity guessed he didn't want to help with the delivery. The doctor examined her.

"She's only dilated 2 centimeters." The doctor said, "Ms. Smoak, this is going to be a long delivery."

"Why?" Felicity groaned.

"And I'm reminding you that we can't give you an epidural because we -"

"Don't know what the effects will be with the child's alien biology." Felicity finished, frowning. "I know." She tried to focus on her breathing. "Can you call Digg or Sara or Roy or..." She trailed off. While Oliver had been supportive, every time he'd looked at her growing stomach, he'd get an angry distant look in his eyes. He'd made every excuse to avoid her ever since the beginning of her third trimester. "Or Clint." She said, opting for the annoying SHIELD agent who'd declared himself official godfather (despite her insistence that there was no Jewish equivalent) and who, despite all logic and reason, had become a close friend.

Coulson nodded. "I'll see what I can…." He trailed off putting a finger to his ear as someone talked to him through his com. "Really?" he said. "I'll be right there."

"Where are you going?" Felicity asked.

"There's someone here I need to help expedite through security." Coulson said.

"That's more important than….ahhhh" She tensed as she was hit with a contraction. "WHAT HAVE I DONE TO DESERVE THIS?" She glared at the ceiling.

"Breathe," Coulson said. "I'll be right back and I promise you'll want what I'm bringing."

"It had better be a sledgehammer to knock me out." Felicity grumbled.

Coulson gave her an enigmatic smile. "You're not far off the mark."

She hissed curses under her breath as the door closed behind the agent. "I HOPE YOU CHOKE ON THE STUPID PERFECTLY KNOTTED TIE."

* * *

Thor glared at the agents who were blocking his path. "Are you going to let me in or not?" He asked. "I am losing my patience."

"Thor." He turned to see Agent Coulson walking to him.

"Agent Coulson, they will not let me in."

"He's with me." Coulson waved away the agents. "Barton, I need you to go to the delivery room."

"It's coming?" Barton asked. Coulson nodded.

"And if the last 2 months have been any indication, it's going to be rough." Coulson said. Barton nodded curtly and walked away. "And don't give her any drugs no matter how much she threatens you." Coulson shouted after him. Then he turned back to Thor. "Follow me."

"Felicity's….giving birth?" He asked, making a move to follow Barton.

"Not for a few hours." Coulson said. "Her water broke and she's 2 centimeters dilated. The contractions are far apart; it's going to be a messy labor."

"I should be there-"

"That…." Coulson blocked him. "Won't be possible at this moment."

"You dare keep me from witnessing the birth of my child?" Thor asked. He was surprised when the smaller agent did not back down or flinch.

"You need to go through a decontamination shower to make sure you haven't brought any foreign diseases which could hurt the baby." Coulson said. "I don't care about your feelings; if your hot-headedness threatens the baby's heath I swear by all the gods you hang out with, I will tase your ass back to Valhalla."

Thor raised an eyebrow, then chuckled. "Lead the way, oh mighty Son of Coul."

* * *

"aaaaAAAAAAAAAAA." Felicity screamed.

"You're doing great." Clint said. "Please…let go of my hair."

Felicity puffed, trying to get air in her lungs and concentrate on anything other than the searing pain.

"Clint, a little sympathy here." She clenched her teeth.

"Felicity, you need to relax." One of the nurses said. "Breathe."

Felicity glared at her. "I'm breathing." She said. "If I wasn't breathing; I wouldn't be alive. Can someone please knock me out?"

"No." Clint sighed. "Even if I have to go bald." He grimaced as one of the contractions caused Felicity to tighten her grip on his hair. "I'm not going to say that I'll resent the kid when it comes out because it cost me my hair, but expect Uncle Clint to give them 8 nights of socks for Hanukah and to encourage them to run with scissors."

"CliiiiiiiiIIIIIINT." Felicity shouted as another contraction hit her. She panted. "Get it out of me right now."

"You're only dilated 4 centimeters." One of the nurses informed her.

"FOUR?!" Felicity shouted. She shut her eyes, begging, pleading with whatever god might be listening. "Thor." She said through gritted teeth. "If you're up there, I will make you hurt for this."

A warm hand encircled her shoulder.

"I have no doubt you will make good on that threat."

Felicity's eyes snapped open and she turned to look at Thor, letting go of Clint's hair.

"Fucking finally." Clint grumbled and jumped out of range.

"Thor." She said. "You're… you're here." She reached out and touched his face. He nodded, his eyes shining. He pressed a kiss to her forehead. She leaned against him. "Is this a dream? Did they finally cave and give me medication?"

Thor chuckled. "No. I promise you I am here."

"Good because AAAA GET IT OUT, RIP IT OUT." Another contraction hit, this one stronger than the others.

"You are capable of surviving this, my lady." Thor said. "You are strong." He held out his hand, letting her grip it tightly.

* * *

In the end it took 12 hours for the baby to be born. Exhausted, Felicity weakly let the nurses tuck the infant into her arms, Thor sat behind her and encircled both of them in his arms.

"She's beautiful." Thor breathed. It was true; he'd never seen a more beautiful sight then the two of them. He'd never be parted from them again.

"Are you going to leave again?" Felicity asked, barely able to keep her eyes open.

Thor kissed her forehead. "No." He said.

"Good." Felicity yawned. "What should we name her?"

Thor looked down at the shining eyes of his daughter, already open and bright with intelligence; just like her mother. "I think I heard Barton hint that Clinton was unisex." He remarked.

Felicity snorted.

"You choose." He said.

She tilted her head, thinking. Then said, "Ayla."

"It's beautiful." Thor appraised. "I love it, just as I love you."

She stiffened. "Loki?" she asked quietly. Thor noted with amusement that she'd covered the ears of their daughter as though to shield her from danger.

"He's dead." Thor said quietly. "He will not hurt you again." He paused. "I feel I should explain –"

"Tomorrow." Felicity yawned. "We will have a long, very detailed discussion about this…tomorrow. Expect tears and shouting and threatening."

"Of course." Thor smiled. "I am just gratified to be home."

* * *

 **AN: Ayla is the name of the DC Legion of Superheroes member Lightening Lass who has electricity based powers. I'm estimating just one more chapter for this story. Hope you've enjoyed it!**


	19. Chapter 19

Parenting was so much easier looking in movies and TV shows, Felicity thought as she got up for the third time that night to respond to their daughter's cries.

"Perhaps we should have set up her crib in a separate room?" Thor suggested, yawning, but getting up as well.

"This is a one bedroom apartment." Felicity said, rubbing her eyes. "Hey sweetie, what's wrong?" She looked over the side of the crib at the wailing child. "Hungry?"

Thor picked her up. "I believe she needs changing." He murmured, patting her gently on the back and taking her to the living room where they'd set up the changing station. "I will do it." He said, looking over his shoulder at Felicity. "You need your rest."

"Not without supervision." Felicity looked mournfully at the bed, but followed him out of the room. "Last time, you ended up with more baby powder on you then Ayla."

Thor pouted. "I am learning." He put the baby down. It took them both a good 3 minutes to get Ayla to stop squirming enough for them to get rid of the dirty diaper. They put her back into her crib and stepped back.

"Why are we not returning to bed?" Thor whispered. "She has fallen asleep."

"Because she can sense weakness." Felicity whispered back. "The second we go back to bed she'll wake up."

Thor snorted and sat on the bed. Ayla opened an eye and opened her mouth, letting out a cough. He shot back up. She squirmed slightly and let out a little sigh, settling into a deeper sleep.

"Told ya." Felicity mouthed. Grabbing the baby monitor, she pushed Thor out towards the couch. Gently shutting the door, she collapsed. Thor sat next to her and pulled her into his arms. "I'm dying." She groaned. "This is the hardest thing I've ever done."

Thor nodded. "Me as well." He ran a hand through her hair. She tensed. He sighed. "You have been cold since I returned. Can you tell me what troubles you?"

Felicity sat up, and glared at him. "You really can't figure out what's…troubling me?" She asked.

He shook his head.

She pushed away from him, moving to the opposite edge to the couch. "I don't know if I can trust you." She said quietly. "You weren't here." She bit her lip, tears coming down. Cursing her hormones, she cleared her throat. "We haven't talked about it, but…you were going for 9 months. I was stuck here, pregnant with your child not knowing if I'd ever see you again. I'm just scared that you'll leave."

Thor took her hands. "I swear that I will never abandon you again." He said. "If the Bifrost is ever repaired I will not leave for Asgard without you and our daughter traveling at my side." He hung his head. "I understand it will take time for you to believe me and I hope to one day be worthy of your trust again." He closed his eyes. Felicity moved closer.

"What happened after you left?" She asked softly. "We never really…" she glanced back at the bedroom. "We've been kinda busy."

"Loki had brought the Frost Giants to Asgard in an attempt to prove to Father that he was worthy of being king." Thor explained. "It turns out that he was a Frost giant this whole time. My father adopted him as in infant and raised him while hiding the truth." He paused. "We fought. The Giants were killed and Loki attempted to…" His voice caught. "I have never seen such hatred and fury in a person's eyes. He must have hidden it for years and, blind as my pride made me, I never realized my father treated us differently or I just accepted it as normal." He leaned back, and looked forward, staring at the wall. "In our confrontation the Bifrost was damaged. It threatened to destroy all of Asgard. The only way to save the lives of the people of my realm was to break the rainbow bridge which tethered the Bifrost to our realm."

Felicity covered her mouth. "And here I've been whining about how unfair my life is."

Thor shook his head. "I do not tell you this to attempt to justify causing you pain. If there had been any other way I would have done it."

"What happened to Loki?" She asked.

Thor sighed heavily. "You don't have to tell me." She added quickly.

"He fell off the side of the bridge." Thor said, his eyes getting a faraway look. "I tried to catch him and nearly fell off as well. My father caught my arm but wasn't strong enough to pull us both up. Loki…he let go and fell into…" He closed his eyes. Felicity put a hand on his shoulder and he leaned against her. "He is gone."

"I'm sorry." Felicity said softly.

Thor put his arms around her. They sat in silence listening to Ayla's sleepy snuffles on the baby monitor. Felicity tilted her head slightly. Thor looked at her and chuckled. "You can ask whatever is preying on your mind."

"How did you get back?"

Thor gave her a grin. "You would be proud of me." He said, leaning back with a self-satisfied expression. Felicity raised an amused eyebrow.

"Oh really?"

"Well." Thor said. "I spend most of my time in the palace library and Loki's room pouring over spell books. He was capable of traveling between realms undetected and I wanted to discover how."

"Aw." Felicity grinned. "You big loveable bookworm." She gave him a kiss on the cheek. Thor glowed with pride. "So you found it?"

Thor pouted. "No." He admitted. Felicity giggled. "I had to use other means. I did not know about your pregnancy until earlier on the day I returned to Midgard. Heimdall had known, but had informed my father first. He was furious and bound the gatekeeper with a magical oath which made him unable to tell me without losing his life. He finally managed to convey the information to Sif who told me."

"Why?" Felicity frowned. Thor looked at her, ashamed.

"My father…is not overly fond of mortals." He explained. "In addition there is a law, from the time we walked among you that banned Asgardians from engaging in sexual contact with Midgardians."

Felicity crossed her arms. Thor sighed.

"My father is set in his ways."

"So he was just going to keep you in the dark until the Bifrost was fixed? Which could have been years from now, by the way. I mean I would probably have been 90 or something and Ayla would have grown up without knowing her father and then you'd show up. Surprise you have a kid and-"

Thor cut off her rant by stealing a kiss.

"Mmmmm." Felicity hummed. She pulled away. "That's cheating."

Thor nodded. "I confronted him. Apparently he had hidden the information from my mother as well." He smiled. "My mother was enraged and forced him to use his power as the Allfather to send me here." He grinned. "No one stands against the wrath of Frigga. Not even the Allfather."

Felicity looked at him curiously. "You could have just stayed there…" She said. "You could have used the broken Bifrost as an excuse and forgotten about me." She bit her lip. "Instead you literally tried to move heaven and earth to come back."

"Is it really that surprising?" Thor asked. "I love you, Felicity Smoak. There is no force that could change that or –" His next words were swallowed up by Felicity pressing her lips to his. He wound his arms around her.

"I am attempting to profess my undying devotion." He said when she pulled back, but kept her close.

"I love you too." Felicity said.

"I have a present for you." Thor said, letting go and moving away from the couch. Sneaking into the bedroom, he came back out holding something in his hand. "My mother bid me give this to you." He paused, looking down at the necklace. "I…I did not have an opportunity to look at it until now." He smiled.

"Does it have some kind of significance?" Felicity asked, turning and lifting her hair.

"It belonged to my grandmother." Thor explained as he put the chain around her neck. "It was passed to my mother on her coronation day and now she has given it to you." He kissed Felicity's neck. "Any Asgardian who sees you wearing this will automatically understand that you are one of the royal family and in line to be queen."

Felicity felt a lump growing in her throat. "I don't know what to say." She murmured.

There was a high pitched intake of breath. They simultaneously turned to look in horror at the baby monitor, knowing what that sound was usually a prelude to.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH."

"I will go." Thor said.

"No." Felicity sighed. "She's probably hungry and as amazing as your chest is, I don't think you can breastfeed." She got up and went into the bedroom. A few mintues later she came out again holding Ayla.

"She's fussy. Can you help calm her down so she eats?" Felicity asked.

Thor made a mock serious face. "Be nice to your mother, my little princess." He said. "Or-"

There was a zapping noise and a small bolt of electricity crackled between them. Felicity's eyes widened in shock, a look that was mirrored on Thor's face.

"Did…did she just?"

"Yes." Thor said reaching out a hand. Ayla grabbed his fingers and giggled happily, small sparks flying from her fingers. "Oh, she's a clever little girl." He grinned. "She already knows enough to direct her power towards me because she knows I cannot be harmed by it."

Felicity gaped at him. "Our baby has superpowers….how are you so calm about this?"

Thor looked at her, amused. "I am capable of summoning lightning."

"With your hammer." Felicity said. "Not." She added when Thor pouted. "that that's not super impressive, but she did it without any help."

Thor shrugged. "I believe I mentioned that magic is a common ability among Asgardian women. In addition, Ayla's grandmother is a powerful sorceress." He contemplated her face thoughtfully. "I wonder if she can hold Mjolnir."

"NO." Felicity said. "It's 3 am. You are not testing out the range of our baby's powers until after breakfast, and preferably somewhere far away from human civilization." She closed her eyes. "Why is that a sentence that makes sense?"

Thor grinned conspiratorially at his daughter. "If you eat and go back to sleep, your mother will be in a good mood tomorrow and allow us to have lots of fun."

Ayla began tugging at Felicity's pajama shirt as if to speed up the feeding process. Felicity laughed. "The two of you are going to be dangerous together."

* * *

Thor woke the next morning to the sound of the doorbell ringing. The three of them had fallen asleep on the couch. "Go back to sleep, my lady." He murmured as Felicity grumbled. "I will get it."

He opened the door, only to be pushed aside by a small blonde woman who barged in followed by an extremely harassed looking Agent Coulson and a thoroughly amused Agent Barton.

"Why the hell I wasn't informed, I'll never know. I'm her mother and I shouldn't have to go through a background check before I'm allowed to visit her. She's just had a baby and the deadbeat dad is nowhere in sight and…" She paused, taking in the sight of Felicity and Ayla asleep on the couch. "Oh isn't she precious."

"Mrs. Smoak." Coulson said, clearly about to explain when the woman, who Thor assumed was Felicity's mother, launched into another rant.

"And why did this pregnancy have to be so hush hush that I wasn't told until the end of the third trimester? Is the father some kind of criminal? Because I thought I taught her better than that. I told her to find herself a nice man who respects her, loves her, and looks like he should be modeling for that store that puts half naked guys on their bags."

Felicity sat up slowly. "Mom?" She asked, holding Ayla against her.

"Oh, baby." The elder lady Smoak came to sit next to her. "Let me see my grandchild. Oh she's perfect." She grinned at Ayla. "You poor baby. You're lucky to have the most wonderful woman as your mama…even if your dad is a no good loser who abandoned her."

Felicity looked over at Thor. "Am I still asleep?"

Thor glared at Agent Barton who was laughing. "I see you only informed her of part of the story."

"Yeah." The agent grinned. "We were about to explain the whole alien thing, but Phil made the mistake of mentioning that that you'd left and she went off before we could get to the rest." The lady Smoak turned and glared at them.

"What's so funny?"

"Mom, this is Clint, he's a friend and that's Thor." Felicity said. "He's Ayla's father."

She stood and walked over to him. "Thor?" She asked. Thor nodded, gulping nervously. While this Midgardian woman was as small in stature as her daughter, he knew better than to cross her. "You're Ayla's father."

"Yes lady Smoak, I –"

SMACK. She struck him across the face. Thor rubbed his jaw; it had hurt quite badly.

"MOM." Felicity said, standing and handing Ayla to Clint. The two of them looked at each other, bewildered. "He's not a deadbeat. I promise."

"Did he abandon you?" Her mother growled.

"Well, yes, but, DON'T." Felcity grabbed her mother's arm before she could give Thor another smack. Thor moved back. Coulson sighed and closed the door.

"How about we go through this from the beginning?" He suggested. "There's a lot to explain, Mrs. Smoak, and you'll want to be sitting for it."

The lady Smoak sat on one of the sofas. "Call me Donna." She said to Coulson.

Clint handed Ayla to Thor and went to lean against the wall, getting the best vantage point to see the entire conversation. Thor glared at the archer; he was obviously enjoying this immensely.

"Lady Donna." Thor began. "Let me just say that I did not mean –"

"I asked Agent Coulson to call me Donna." The lady in question cut him off. "You have to earn that right."

Thor was about to speak when Felicity put her hand on his arm and shook her head.

"Mom." She said. "This is going to be hard, but…" She took a deep breath. "I guess I should start from when I was driving through the woods about a year ago and saw a weird light fall from the sky…"

It took 3 hours, 5 glasses of water, 2 shouting matches, 1 diaper change, countless tears and Thor summoning Mjolnir before they got the whole story out and Donna to believe it.

"So…" She was holding a sleeping Ayla in her arms, rocking the baby gently. "You're a prince from another dimension?"

Thor nodded. "Yes."

"And you're my grandbaby's father?"

"Yes." Thor responded.

"And you love Felicity?"

"Will all my heart." Thor said sincerely.

"And you understand that if you ever hurt her again I'll cut off the piece of you that made you capable of making this beautiful baby?" She gave Ayla a kiss on the forehead.

Thor nodded, shifting uncomfortably.

"Good." Donna smiled. She looked over at Felicity. "A GOD?" She gasped. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Mom." Felicity covered her face.

"I mean, I understand the whole secrecy to keep him safe, but you could have called. I'm your mother. I have the right to know that my daughter is dating a god, who also happens to be a prince." She frowned. "Does that make you a princess?"

"Why?" Felicity whimpered, pressing her face against Thor's arm. He smiled, he liked the lady Donna. She was fearsome in her protection of her daughter; a quality he could appreciate. He pitied the imbecile foolish enough to try to harm her, because he was sure that whatever he'd do to them would be child's play compared to what Donna would do.

Felicity glared at Barton, who was still grinning at them.

"This is better than reality TV." He shrugged.

"Clint if you don't wipe that stupid smirk off your face I'll find the Black Widow's phone number and have her do it for you."

* * *

"Having your mother here does have its advantages." Thor remarked as they drove out into the woods. Donna had offered to clean up the apartment and take care of food while they were out, so Thor had suggested the testing out of Ayla's abilities.

Felicity snorted. "Wait until you taste her cooking. You'll be offering to personally fly her back to Vegas…after you get over the food poisoning."

"Well, you aren't exactly-" He stopped when she glared at him. "I was attempting to say that you make amazing salad and pasta…and that you are very adept at ordering pizza."

Felicity snorted. "See, Ayla?" She directed her comments at the backseat where the baby was securely tucked into her car seat. "You need to train them properly."

"I like this vehicle more than your old one." Thor remarked, looking at the inside of the black van they were driving. "It is roomier."

"Clint gave it to me." Felicity said. "He said it was SHIELD surplus."

Thor raised an eyebrow. Felicity shook her head.

"He stole it and Coulson looked the other way and modified the inventory records." She admitted.

Thor crossed his arms. "I am unsure about how I feel about someone with such obvious felonious tendencies being around our daughter."

"He's fine as long as he has supervision." Felicity said, turning off the road. "We're here." They got out. Thor carried Mjolnir and Felicity carried Ayla as they made their way through the woods. Finally they made it to the clearing where Thor had landed…only to find someone already there.

"Hi." Felicity said, as Thor put Mjolnir behind his back. "Isn't this a lovely spot to have a picnic? Because that's what we were doing. Just a family, out in the woods, having a picnic."

"You can drop the act, Ms. Smoak." The man fixed her with an expressionless stare that would have made Moira jealous. He was tall, dark, and bald wearing all black and a long black leather jacket which matched his eyepatch. "My name is Nick Fury and I know exactly who you and your boyfriend are."

Felicity's eyes widened. She'd heard the name while she'd been on bedrest and while she'd never met the SHIELD director, she knew his reputation.

"Director Fury." She said. "How can we help you today?"

"Firstly, let's get out of these damn woods." He looked around. "I'd rather have this conversation somewhere that isn't full of poison ivy and bears."

A quinjet decloaked overhead and landed. Fury raised an eyebrow and motioned towards its entrance. She and Thor looked at each other. Fury walked into the jet.

"If I wanted you dead, you wouldn't be standing here debating whether or not I'm planning on killing you." He called after him.

"Felicity bit her lip and stepped forward. Thor followed. The jet closed and took off.

"So," Felicity said. "What's so important that you felt the need to kidnap us?"

"I'm not kidnapping you, Ms. Smoak." Fury said, as he sat across from them. "I need you and Mr. Odinsson for a very special project of mine."

"Project?" Thor growled.

Fury leaned back and handed Felicity a tablet. "The 2 of you are in possession of certain skills which I find myself in need of." He fixed Ayla with a look. "And I'm willing to bet that when the little one grows up, she's going to be special too."

Felicity handed Ayla to Thor and looked down at the tablet opening files and reading through them. Each file making her eyes grow wider.

"I call it," Fury said. "The Avengers Initiative."


End file.
